


I'll Be There

by Bugsy2019



Series: Unity [2]
Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Family Drama, Motorcycles, Other, Romance, Sex, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-05-10 10:54:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 52,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14735621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bugsy2019/pseuds/Bugsy2019
Summary: When a new threat threatens the SAMCRO family, it's up to everybody to try to go straight. Kayla and Opie adjust to being newly weds and the challenges of being married. Addie and Happy try to start the family they most desperately want while his lifestyle gets in the way. Tara and Jax try to get ahold of the crowns of Charming and help the club go straight. Charlie and Chibs try to integrate themselves in each others lives, finding it difficult to find a common ground. Together, they find laughter, pain, and new beginnings as they battle through the MC world.





	1. Three Days Later...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't own SoA, Kurt Suttner and FX does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Current Cast List:   
> Kayla Winston-Lucy Hale  
> Addie Lowman- Alexandria Daario   
> Charlie Hanson- Laura Vandervoort   
> SoA cast- respected actors

Jax Teller learned how precious life was outside of prison. Walking up to have wonderful sex with his old lady and fiance, having a nice hot breakfast with his boys, and finding a quiet moment away from the madness of the club. He knew that he had to tell Tara what was going on with the club. He waited three whole days before he told her. The first day he spent learning the new routine around the house. Tara would wake up, pump for Thomas, wake Thomas and Abel, make breakfast, clean them up and get them dressed, take Thomas to his mom's or wait for Neeta to come over, go to work, come home, make dinner, spend time with the boys, then go to bed. But now that he was home, he found himself wanting to participate with the family routine. Now, he woke up and watched Tara either breastfeed or pump...something that turned him on. Then he would help the get the boys up, and play with them while Tara made breakfast. So far, the past three days were filled with niceties, both parties rediscovering each other. Jax loved her post baby body...something about her new curves drove him wild. 

But that morning, he sat nervously. Tara placed a plate of pancakes, bacon, and eggs in front of him, going back to make Abel a small plate. When she sat down, Jax sighed, knowing it was now or never. "Tara...we need to talk," he told her, shifting in his seat nervously. 

"About what?" Tara asked, handing Abel his cup of juice. 

"Well...about the club. I told you that I would tell you everything about SAMCRO. And I am...while we were inside, I think Clay made a deal with some Mexicans." 

His tone of voice sent a chill down Tara's spine. "Then what are you doing?" she asked, already knowing the answer. The look in Jax's eyes gave her the answer. "Jesus, drugs, Jackson?" 

"Yeah." 

"Does he realize how dangerous that is? I thought you guys didn't run drugs in Charming?!" 

"We don't. It would be outside of Charming. See, this is the type of bullshit that is going to ruin SAMCRO. I love my brothers, but they're all greedy bastards. It's not set in stone, but I caught him a couple of times. It's probably going to get voted in tonight." 

"I get that they like the money...hell, I like being comfortable. But not like this," Tara sighed. 

"I know babe," Jax sighed, laying his head down at the table. 

Tara leaned forward, running a hand over his short head of hair. "Hey..." Jax looked up at her, as she took his hand in hers. "I ran the first time, and it nearly destroyed me. But I'm not running this time. I'm staying put, and we're going to figure out a way to get you guys out of this shit, one way or another. Together. Got that? So, don't be hiding things from me or pushing me out. Because, this is your one final chance, Jackson. Got it?" 

Jax smiled, nodding. "Got it." 

"Good. So, who could we sway to get people over on our side." 

"Tig and Bobby will back Clay ever chance we get. So, they're out." 

"Opie will follow you. You two have been best friends since we were teenagers, and even before we met." 

"Yeah, but last time things got hairy with me and Clay, he went over on Clay's side." 

"That's because he didn't have Kayla, and just lost Donna. The club was the only thing that kept him sane at the moment. You could get to Kayla to get to him. You'll be suprised how much power we Old Ladies hold over you men." 

Jax grinned at Tara's rueful look. "Oh, I know, babe. Pussy is a powerful weapon." 

"Same with Happy. Even though he's a cold blooded killing machine, he would do anything to keep his family safe." 

"So, that's three for three. Juice is too squirly." 

"Yeah. Even though he's a sweetkid. Kozik?" 

"Our side for sure if Addie and Happy come over. Chibs would too, we've always been close." 

"Did you get to meet his girlfriend? I didn't get a chance too. She's pretty, though," Tara asked, remembering seeing the tall, athletic build, blonde woman that he was dancing with at the wedding. 

"Yeah...she seems cool. Got Gemma's seal of approval." 

"Good...of shit. Gemma..." 

"I forgot about that obstacle." 

"Don't worry about her. We can do this, Jax," Tara reassured him, kissing his cheek. 

"Together," Jax agreed, kissing her hand. 

"Okay, so Neeta comes at noon, and your mom watches them in the morning when I'm at work. But I-I can change their schedule if you want," Tara told him, putting the dirty dishes in the sink. Tara took a short vacation the past three days off, but now it was time for her to go back to work. 

"No, I don't want to mess with their routine."

"It's already a big help having you around. Daddy," Tara smiled, kissing him as she removed Thomas from the high chair.

"... Charming, California was rocked earlier this morning by a discovery of four bodies at a housing development. Details are still coming in, but we have learned that the victims were shot multiple times," the TV reported sounded from the televison set in the living room.

Tara stood straighter, turning to Jax. "Were you involved?"

"How much do you want to know?" Jax asked, a teasing tone in his voice. Tara rolled her eyes, slapping him upside the head. "Kidding, babe. Jeez."

"...suggesting associations with Russian organized...

"All of it," Tara ordered, placing Thomas down in the playpin in the living room.

Jax followed, with Abel in his arms, setting him down to play. "It was retaliation for what happened to me in prison. Russians." 

"No fall back?" Tara questioned.

"None. What's so ever." 

* * *

Addie moaned as Happy moved inside her, holding onto the headboard with both hands. Her knees were bent up and wrapped around his waist as he thrusted into her. "Fuck, Hap. I'm close," she moaned, her pitch growing. 

"I know," Happy rasped out, feeling her wall tighten around his member. "Fuck little girl..." 

"Hap, oh god!" Addie moaned, her body tightening as waves of pleasure came crashing down over her. Happy grunted, grabbing her hips to angle her up a bit as he pounded in her quicker, bringing her into the next release. 

Finally, they managed to cum together, both breathing harshly and their mixed curses filling up the home. Happy pulled away, planting a kiss on her sweaty hair collasping down on the bed. Getting up, he went to wipe off as Addie managed to get out of bed and go pee. After both were showered, they sat in their living room, enjoying their breakfast. Addie wore a black tanktop, jean shorts, a white floral silk kimono sweater, with brown ankle boots while Happy wore his usual jeans, t-shirt and kutte. 

"So, you working in the shop today?" 

"Yep. Back to school specials for girly girls and guys. We decided to shift things around seasonally. We're going to have some more summer and fall wear instead of dresses. Figured it was more pratical. With Jacob Hale as mayor, he's still trying to push me out since I'm married to a Son. But, he's not going to win." 

"Go get 'em," Happy smiled, finishing his breakfast. Nothing could compare home cooked food after eating prison slop for fourteen months. "Fuck, that was good. You been taking cooking lessons?" 

"Yeah. Kayla and Gemma have been teaching me and Tara somethings. I actually like cooking." 

"Well, keeping doing it and I'll be a fat bastard." Happy left his plate on the table, and went to watch the morning news. 

Addie stared at it, sighing. He wasn't coming back to get it. While he was a bit OCD about things about brushing teeth outside of the bathroom and not eating in bed, he expected her to clean up the house. He was the basic man from the 1950s, but Addie knew it was because of his POS deadbeat father that helped raise him. Saving her battles, she picked up the plate, rinsed it off, and placed it neatly inside the washing machine. Grabbing her phone, she made sure it was charged, and grabbed her brown leather hand bag. Walking to the living room, she saw the news playing about four murders in a warehouse. "Was that you guys?" 

"Yeah. Retaliation from Jax. Don't worry babe. We got it under control." 

"Good," Addie nodded, grabbing her sunglasses from the end table. 

"Hey...I want you to carry this around," Happy told her, handing her a small Ruger pistol. 

"Why? What's going on?" 

"Just some new buisness. And after last time, I'm not taking any chances." The last time was when Addie was kidnapped, and he came home from Belfast to see her in a hospital bed with a broken wrist and strangulation wounds. 

"I'll be fine. I gotta go. We're getting a shipment in. Love you..." she told him, kissing his colorful bald head. 

"Hey..." Happy grunted, grabbing her elbow to get a proper kiss. "Love you. Be safe." 

"Will do. Bye!" 

* * *

Clay Morrow sat reading the morning paper as his wife was getting a shower and getting ready. "Morning," Gemma greeted her husband, kissing him on the cheek. "How you doing? Didn't want to wake you."

"Mmm... It's good to be home," Clay hummed. Gemma smiled, going over to feed her beloved bird. "Made the papers."

"Oh, yeah. Four bodies out by Haleville," Gemma nodded.

"Just part of the process. We're protected." 

"You start the new biz today?" 

"Yeah. You alright with this?" 

"Of course, baby. I will always be on your side," Gemma told her husband. "I just want everything to be okay." 

"It will be." 

"Jax has been pulling away again..." Gemma sighed. 

"Yeah, he was getting dodgy inside as well. I think it was because of the Russians." 

"You just need to reign him back in. Something is just off about him." 

"Do you think he knows about what really happened to JT?" Clay asked. 

"No...no one knows. That day tensions were running high, and things came out. Nobody really knows what really happened." 

"Maybe Maureen Ashby told him things," Gemma speculated. 

"She was just some Irish chick he ran to."

"Or she was more. John sharing his every woe and suspicion. I am telling you, that Irish gash is reaching across the Atlantic," Gemma panicked. 

"She can't hurt us. And John can't hurt us."

"John trusted her. Had a goddamn family with her. There's no telling what he confided."

"This was real, it'd have blown up by now. We're good. So, don't go setting fires when there's nothing to burn. You hear me?"

Gemma scoffed a bit. "I don't do that. Not all the time," Gemma answered in a small voice. Clay chuckled, going back to his paper. "I got to go. There's oatmeal on the stove."

"Mmm, oatmeal," Clay deadpanned, eyeing the pot of white slop. 

"Shut it, eat it, and live with it. It's good for you. Love you."

"Love you."

* * *

"Fuck, Ope! Fucking hell! Right there!" Kayla moaned out, gripping the sheets in front of her. Since they been married four days ago, they have in a blissful circle of sex and resting. They went to Sonoma Valley spending one day and night there before they found it too stuffy. So, they returned home with the kids, having sex in every position and location they could think off. Today, they were trying a new position called the Galley. Opie was sitting with his legs spread apart and his arms behind him. Kayla was on top of him, her back towards his chest, leaning over his legs as she moved her hips quickly. 

"Fuck!" Opie yelled, throwing his head back and eyes closed. Moving one hand to grab onto her hair, he pulled to make her take him harder. 

"FUCK! FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!" Kayla screamed, as she fell over the edge. 

"KAYLA!" Opie roared, spilling himself inside of her. Once they calmed down, Opie collasped on his back, while Kayla rolled off of him on her back. Her feet were hear Opie's face. 

"Okay..." she gasped, wiping the sweat from her eyes. "Newlywed sex is better than angry sex. Hands down..." 

"I can't feel my legs..." Opie rasped out, chuckling a bit. "Shit...I think you broke me." 

"We got to get up...kids to get ready for school." 

"Right...I'm getting up. Just give me a minute..." Opie told her, patting her leg. 

Once they showered...seperatley, the happy couple got ready for the day. Kayla wore an old pair of jeans with oil stains and Opie wore his signature clothes. "Kids are at school," Opie told her, coming back home with keys in hands. "We should take advantage. It's a honeymoon day." 

"We've been on a honeymoon for three and a half days now. I'm tired baby...the constant sex is catching up with me? Besides, Piney gave us that truck as a wedding present, and I want to make some additions to it." 

"Babe...that truck is fine." 

"I could use a new paint job...maybe blue. And the leather seats have to go. Have you ever had sex on leather seats? Bad enough with your kutte." 

"Mmm...saucy," Opie grinned, grabbing her arm roughly and placing her on his lap, kissing her. 

* * *

Tara was finishing getting ready to go to work as Jax juggled Thomas in his arms as he chased after the giggling Abel. "Abel!" Hearing a knock ont he door, he answered it and saw his mom. "Ah, look at this perfect family," Gemma smiled, seeing her son hold his youngest. 

"Gamma!" Abel squealed, running over to her. 

"Hey, baby," Gemma smiled. "Crazy morning?" 

"Yeah. Thomas is apparently teething, and Abel is about to turn two and very rambious." 

"Yeah, he wears me out." 

"Hey...I gotta head out," Tara told them, coming out of the bedroom. Bending down, she kissed Abel's cheek, then Thomas's, then gave Jax a kiss on the lips. "Love you. See you later."

"See you later," Jax told her.

"Yeah. Bye," Tara smiled, leaving.

Gemma sighed, putting down Abel and grabbing Thomas from Jax. "Everything okay? You know, with us."

"What are you talking about?" Jax asked, confused. Reaching for the gun safe, he unlocked it and grabbed his KA-BAR and his gun. 

"I just... I just missed you so much."

"We're fine, Mom."

"I love you more than anything in this world, Jackson. You know that, right?"

"I know," Jax nodded.

"Okay."

Jax reached over and kissed his mom on the cheek. "I love you, too, Mom."

"Yeah."

"See you later."

"See you later." Gemma hugged Thomas to her as Jax left. If Jax ever found out the truth, she had a feeling that he won't look at her ever the same again. 

* * *

 

Jax and Clay met at TM Auto to grab the crates of guns to the Mexicans. On the way there, they sat in comfortable silence in the van. "So, you hear from Ope?" Clay asked. 

"Yeah, but I doubt that we'll see him tonight at church. I heard from him on day one. He was wrapped up pretty tight in Kayla."

When they reached the warehouse, they parked and began to walk up. "They're waiting inside," a Mayan informed them. 

"Keep the crusher running. It may get a little noisy," Clay ordered.

"I got it."

Jax and Clay walked in to see Marcus and another Mexican man waiting for them. "Marcus," Clay greeted, holding out his hand.

"Clay. Good to see you, man. Jax," Marcus greeted, shaking hands. "How you doing?"

"All right, bro."

"Clay, Jax-- Romero Parada," Marcus introudced the older gentleman. 

"Friends call me Romeo."

"Good to finally meet meet you, man," Clay grinned, shaking his hand. 

"Yeah, thank you for coming up."

"Santos and Luis. I heard Viktor Putlova never made it home from SAMCRO's wedding," Romeo hinted.

Clay just shrugged. "Yeah, we, uh... we had to put 'em down...whole North Cali crew."

"Must have been a wild party."

"We'd like to avoid them throwing one for us," Jax explained.

"The word has been put out: No one is to interfere with our new friendship."

"Thank you," Clay thanked. 

"Yeah, thank you," Jax nodded. 

"Now, see the wares," Romeo smiled.

"Right here," Jax told him, popping open the crate. Romeo whistled seeing the shiny guns. "Got AR-15s, SIG 551s, AKs, KG-9s, Glocks, FN-57s. Got two dozen of each local. Except the 57s. Only got 15 of them."

"Just like we discussed; 20% off the street tag," Clay bargained. 

The Mexicans began pulling the guns out, inspecting them, and putting clips in. "What about ammo?" one of Romeo's men, Santo asked. 

"The Wahewa press everything we need," Jax informed them. 

"These are excellent," Luis told his boss, inspecting a bullet.

"We'll take all you have in stock," Romeo told the two Sons. 

"Let's set a shipment for every two weeks. Three dozen of everything except the Glocks," Luis told them, putting the gun in his hand back down.

"We can make that work."

"There's more. I need bigger," Romeo said.

"How much bigger?" Clay asked. 

"RPGs, .50-caliber machine guns long-range sniper rifles."

"Well, I'll have to make a call."

"Good. Let me see, if my math is correct, that's seven hundred and change for your current stock. Give me 100K in mixed ammo."

"Hmm..."

"500 K should cover half plus your transport payment."

"Well, I got a run scheduled for this weekend, bro."

"I'll have the coke ready for you for the run back."

Inside of Jax's head, he gasped. He knew what Clay was doing, but this frosted the cake. "Sounds good. You guys are welcome to keep the samples," Clay told Romeo, shaking his hand.

"I'll be in town a couple days. Call me as soon as you hear from the Irish." After Romeo left, Jax turned to his step-father. 

"We're trafficking blow?" Jax asked. 

"Nah. We're just muling it back. Mayans are chopping and distributing."

"Jesus Christ," Jax seethed.

"Part of the deal. I had no choice."

"Who else knows?"

"Nobody. That's why you're here. I need you to understand this."

"Understand what? That you forgot to mention we'd also be running coke for the Galindo Cartel? We voted in selling them guns."

"We'll have another vote."

Jax scoffed. Greedy mother fucker...he had a feeling that Clay was up to something after catching him with one of the Galindo Cartel members in Stockton. "You brokered this whole goddamn thing in Stockton, kept us out of the loop on purpose."

"The Russians needed to die for what they did to you inside. The Galindo Cartel is the only player deep enough to keep the Russians off our backs."

"Oh, don't give me the 'I did this for you, son; bullshit! This ain't about me, Clay. And this ain't about the club. This is about you cashing out."

Clay sighed, running a hand through his hair."These last two years-- brutal. Your mom and me-- no savings, no... medical, no... retirement cushion. I got, what, a year, maybe two? I've given my whole life to this club. I don't want to walk away with nothing."

"You pushed a guy off a roof in Belfast for the exact same thing."

"McGee was a rat."

Jax sighed, running a hand through his hair. "What do you want from me?"

"This vote splits the ranks. I want you to back me. It's the only way this thing passes."

"If I do this..." Jax began. "If I do this, then you promise me to help me get out of illegal shit when I'm in."

"What the hell you talking about?"

"I want my sons growing up in the world I was used to when I grew up. No guns, no drugs, no nothing. I know it won't happen overnight, but I figured in a year after I take the gravel, we'll be out and doing more legit shit." 

"Don't you want to provide for your family?" 

"Of course I do...but not like this. This is your club, but when I'm in, shit is going to change. If I back you up, you have to back me up. That's the deal..." 

"Is Tara pushing you for this?" 

"No. This is all me. So, we have have a deal?" 

Clay thought for a moment, then held out a hand. "Okay." 

* * *

Opie and Kayla walked into the clubhouse hand in hand, grinning like love struck fools. Kayla now donned her light blue work shirt, and a black tank top. Seeing the new couple, a couple of people cat called at the couple. "About time you two come up from your love caccoon," Tig grinned. 

"Shut the fuck up, Trager," Kayla snarked, leaning up to kiss her husband. "I'm going to work on a couple of orders. I'll see you later tonight." 

"Alright. I shouldn't be home late, but if I am, I'll send you a text message or a call." 

The guys went inside the chapel, minus Happy who was at his aunts house were the current guns were being kept. As soon as Clay brought up the guns, several people protested. 

"SAMCRO's never been in the drug business," Bobby voiced.

"And never will," Piney grumbled, pissed at Clay's proclamation. 

"The last thing that we want to do is give Alvarez leverage over our business," Opie reasoned.

"We've been good with the Mayans for over two years now, Ope," Tig told the giant patch. 

"Yeah, and let's not forget, if it wasn't for our brown alliance, Russians would've shivved all of us," Jax reasoned, pushing down the bile in his throat.

"Cartel's already committed. Word's been put out. Russians aren't gonna touch us," Clay informed them.

"What about the Feds? Drugs put us on DEA's radar," Juice asked, worried about the blowback.

"We're gonna find a new buyer," Opie voiced.

"May not pay as much, but with the Niners and the Italians, we'll still earn," said Bobby. 

"The IRA have an expectation of big volume. Without the Russians, that burden lands right here with us," Chibs informed the table.

"Cartel gives us all the demand our supply can handle. We do this short-term, cash out."

"It's a goddamn cartel! There is no short-term," Piney yelled.

"I think it's worth the risk," Jax told the boys. "Down payment for our first order."

"We should all think about this. We'll vote when the others get back. Jax, go check on the ammo, and, uh, take Ope with you," Clay told the club, banging the gavel.

After Jax, Piney, and Ope left, Clay sat back in his chair, sighing. "I want this," he told his two most trusted friends.

"Yeah," Tig simply said, still unsure of what to think.

"Tell Happy that, uh, we're going to have to keep the guns at his aunt's house a couple more days. I got to lock down the storage," Clay ordered Tig.

"All right," Tig nodded, getting up to leave.

"Clay. Give me a minute?" Bobby asked, stopping Clay from leaving. "This move-- I know why you're doing it. But all due respect... it's a mistake."

"Well, I appreciate that, but I'm not asking for your counsel."

"Push this through, it kills SAMCRO. I love you, brother. But I love this club more. Not going to let it happen."

"Well, I... I love you, too. Do what you have to do," Clay told one of best friends. 

On the way out, Opie went over to say goodbye to his wife. "Hey, baby," he sighed. 

Kayla leaned out of the car she was working on, and smiled at him. But noticing the tense look in his eyes, her smile fell a bit. "What's the matter?" 

"Just some shit with the club," Opie told her, leaning into her soft but calloused hand that went to rest on his cheek. "I'm going off with Jax to check shit out. I'll tell you more when I get home, okay?" 

"Yeah. Be careful," she told him, softly kissing him. Opie inhaled, taking in the floral scent of her shampoo. Breaking away, he went over to Jax's truck. Getting in, they drove with heavy rock music playing over the speakers.

Jax finally shut off the music, looking over at his brother and best friend. "Really? Nothing to say?" Jax asked, not liking the silent treatment.

"Not quite sure who I'm talking to anymore," Opie admitted.

"Wow. That's deep, man," Jax told him, looking down. Opie's admission hurt him in a way.

"Not really," Opie shrugged.

"When you were inside, what'd you think about?"

"Donna, the kids."

"Yeah, me, too, man. The whole time. Tara and my boys. Tara and my boys. Wondering how the hell I'm going to take care of them. Stay whole, be a decent father," Jax confessed.

"Pushing coke was your solution?"

"No. Earning big was. Look, I know running with the cartel is serious shit, but I don't want to live hand-to-mouth anymore. I want something more for my boys." It wasn't a full lie, but half a lie.

"You know, I watched Tara take care of your kids. She's a strong chick, man. She really stepped up. But Kayla, she...she's a lot like Donna and Tara, but I just started my life with her and the kids. I want more of her...I want kids with her...I want to be with her. I don't want to leave her." 

"We're not going away, Ope. The cartel is protected. They got politicians and law enforcement on the payroll from Lodi to Mexico City. Nah, we're going to be fine," Jax shrugged, trying to sound convincing.

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself as much as me," Opie told him, looking out the window. 

When they got to the reservation, the place was cleaned up from the massive wedding that was there three days ago. "Yo, Running Mouse," Jax called out.

"Jax. These guys are worse than the Irish. Wake up," Opie told the man next to him.

Listening carefully, they could hear some yelling and talking.  "Lay some down. I'm gonna get in the truck. You hop in the back," Jax ordered.

Opie nodded, grabbing his gun from his holster and started to fire as they rounded to the truck. "We're clear!" Opie yelled, but was hit in the back of the head with a gun. Both were apprehended and and their hands tied up behind their backs. "You all right?"

"Uh, yeah, think so," Jax nodded, looking at one of the man. He was clearly speaking Russian.

"You? Don't move," the man ordered in accented English. "You were stupid to steal from us. Now you watch this." Opie and Jax watched as he brought out a whimpering woman, placing the gun against her head.  "You tell me where the guns are, or I blow her head off."

"Okay, okay, okay," Jax told him, before trying to lunge to attack.

"Kill her!"

"Stop, no, no, I'll tell you! I can get 'em here! I just need to make a call!" Jax yelled. 

* * *

"When was the last time you rode this thing?" Tig asked Unser, taking a look at Unser's current ride. 

"I think I had hair."

"Mmm," Tig nodded, taking a bite of meatloaf from the paper plate.

"Is that Gemma's meatloaf?" Bobby asked, his mouth watering.

"Yeah. I-I missed this almost as much as I missed pussy. You all right?"

"Not really," Bobby sighed.

"Look, look, look, I know. Just, just get behind Clay on this cartel, man. He wants you there," Tig told one of his oldest brothers.

"No, he doesn't. He's locked me out. He's locked all of us out. Except for Jax, he's the only one on the inside, and that's dangerous."

"What do you mean?"

"He had you and me. He trusted us. We gave him balance, protected the club in the process, but that's gone."

"So you think that I'm on the outside, too."

"Hey, guys, guys, Jax on the bar line looking for Clay. He says it's important," Phil told them, holding up the phone. 

Tig nodded, walking over to knock on the chapel door before opening it. "Clay. We got Jax on the bar phone, man."

"Not now," Clay told him.

* * *

Gemma sat rocking Thomas as he grew fussier, thinking about her late husband. She tried to shield Jax away from the truth of his death, not wanting to hurt him in the process. The truth to her was John gave up trying to save SAMCRO. They went to guns, her and John became estranged, Thomas died, she found comfort in Clay after John kept running to Belfast. That fateful day, everything changed. John had come to them, finding them in bed together. After a heated conversation, John left the clubhouse and locked himself in his room. He drank heavily and smoked more weed than the normal amount. He wanted to forget everything. He let everybody down...it was his fault the club ended up where it was. He left Gemma a ten page suicide letter, forgiving her for everything, before hopping on his bike. As he roared down the highway, he was hit by an 18 wheeler. His final words to her still haunted her. 

_You always been stronger than me-- I loved you for that-- but as I lost my way, you found hers. You moved closer to Clay, grown deeply committed to the club. You've become more the woman I married, and I've become less the man. The death of our love is my failing, not yours._

Hearing Tara unlock the door, she got up and plastered a smile on her face. "Oh, hey."

"Hey. You locked the door," Tara smiled to Gemma, kissing her cheek in a daughterly way.

"Didn't mean to," Gemma smiled, passing over Thomas. "He's hungry. Mommy's here, yes. There we go. Come on, there."

"Hi, little guy," Tara told her son, kissing his head. Thomas was eagerly pawing at her shirt, trying to find his food source.

"There you go."

"Hi," Tara cooed as she sat on Gemma's couch. 

"Where's your ring?" Gemma asked, seeing Tara's bare hand.

"Oh... at home. We're not sure when we're gonna tell people," Tara grinned, grabbing a blanket from the diaper bag.

"Why the hesitation?"

"Just waiting for the right time. Oh, you ready?" she asked, as she opened up her shirt and unhooked her bra. Thomas gurgled and latched onto her breast like a pro. "Yeah." Sitting back, she winced as he pulled a bit hard. "He's becoming more like Jax everyday." 

"Jax has always been a boob man...not surprised his sons are like that too," Gemma told her, sitting down in Clay's recliner. "What do you remember about John?" 

"Not much, truthfully. He liked me at least. Jax was crushed when he died." 

"Yeah, so was I," Gemma nodded. "Do you remembered about when he died?" 

"No. I don't like to bring anything up to Jax like that. We thought about naming Thomas after him, but Jax didn't want anything to remind him of his father's mistakes. Are you okay?" Tara asked, worried. 

"Yeah, baby. Just been thinking about things." 

"You know, if you ever need somebody to talk too, I'm always here for you, right?" Tara asked, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. "I couldn't have gotten this far without you. I love you like my real mother. You know that right?" 

Gemma smiled fondly, and wiped a tear from her eye. "Of course, baby girl. I love you too. Enough of this sappy shit. I'm going to call my husband and then we're going to start planning this wedding of yours." 

"Oh god..." Tara groaned out. 

Gemma chuckled, calling Clay's burner. "Hey," Gemma greeted. 

"Hey. Now's really not a good time babe." 

"I know. I was just telling you that I talked to Tara. She knows nothing about John's death. And I looked around as well, and found no evidence that she knows. Just that manuscript that Jax keeps." 

"Good. I gotta go. You two coming by with the boys?" 

"Yeah..." 

"Stay safe." 

* * *

Charlie sat with Chibs at a table, sharing a burger and fries with him as she listened of tales of his fighting. So far, she enjoyed the other guys. They were all very kind to her, and respected her as Chib's girlfriend. She finally met Kayla, who stayed around to eat her own lunch as well as Addie, whose husband was also in the club. 

"I didn't know you boxed," she told him, eating another fry. 

"Chibs here is the best," Tig smiled. 

"I wouldn't say that...but I'm pretty good," Chibs smiled. 

"Well, maybe I'll have to come and watch you sometimes." 

"You two are so adorable," Kayla grinned, seeing the two interact. Charlie blushed a bit, while Chibs cleared his throat looking away. 

"You're a lawyer, right?" Tig asked. 

"Yeah. Why?" Charlie asked. 

"So, say I have my license suspended for three more months. How can I get that back without riding illegally?" 

"Well, speaking from a lawyer standpoint, and knowing that your out on parole, I suspect three more months if you behave." 

"Well, damn. How about a pending public indecency charge?" 

"Well, were you under the influence?" 

Bobby bursted out laughing, as did Juice. Tig went to answer a phone call, while Clay came over. "Hurry up," Tig said over the phone.

"It's gonna take Happy and Kozik at least two hours to get the guns there."

"Shit," Clay cursed. 

"Yeah."

Gemma came out of the bathroom, walking over to the group. "What's the matter?"

"Complications."

"Where's Jax?" Gemma asked, then stiffened when she sirens.

"Oh, shit," Addie cursed, surprising everybody that knew her.

"This is bad timing," Bobby told them, going over to stand by Clay.

"How do you want to play this?" Tig asked. 

"This prick is starting to piss me off. The Russians got Jax and Ope. Need for you to call up T.O., have the Bastards head down to Wahewa backland. Just lay low and wait for my call," Clay informed the group. 

Tig nodded and whispered a message to Gemma to go put a call in over next door. Kayla's heart pounded as she heard the news that her husband was with a group that hated their guts. To top it all over, there was cops knocking on the front door. As the new Sheriff came in, Clay straightened up. "You're looking for fleet work, you're gonna have to make an appointment."

"No, we just had a couple questions regarding your whereabouts the other night," Eli told the group.

"You know we never left the reservation 'cause you were out front all night. Directing traffic, right?" Clay asked. 

Everybody tuned into the sound of fire trucks honking, loudly. "You smell smoke?" Eli asked. 

Tig came back in from speaking with Gemma. "Hey, Bastards are on a toy run. Gemma's left a message with T. O.'s old lady."

"Shit," Clay cursed, about to go off on the Sheriff. 

"Excuse me...if you don't have a warrant, you have no right to look around."

"And you are?" Eli asked the skinny blonde. 

"Charlotte Hanson. Attorney at law." 

"Well, sweetheart, this is a fire inspection."

"Which is up to the Fire Marshall, not you Sheriff." 

"Okay...You made your point. Now it's time for you and the campfire girls to get the hell out," Clay ordered.

"There's no brothers on your wall. What's up with that?" Eli asked, noticing there was no black SAMCRO members.

"What's up is not having any brothers on the wall," Piney fired back, standing behind the bar.

"We got no problem with color," Clay answered. 

"As long as it stays out of Charming," Eli challenged.

"Just do what you got to do."

"No. This... This feels warm. Might be electrical. Come here a second."

Clay came over, and decked Clay, who tried to fight back. "Clay!" Charlie yelled, getting in the middle of the two feuding men. Tig, surprisingly, held back himself not wanting to go back to jail. Charlie was trying to push Eli back, but was accidentally punched by him. 

"Oh, you piece of shit!" Chibs yelled, grabbing a hold of Charlie.

After realizing what he had done, Eli backed up, breathing heavily. "Fire Chief found nine code violations. You got 30 days to fix it. It's a good thing there wasn't a fire, huh? I'm willing to work with you, Clay. Figure out the boundaries that keep us both happy. But you pushed me to this. And I strongly suggest you guys don't do it again. Let's go, boys."

The firemen and police left, leaving the Sons and a trashed clubhouse. "You okay, love?" Chibs asked his old lady, seeing a small cut underneath her blackened eye. 

"Yeah." 

"That was risky..."

"Well, even though he threw the first punch, you guys could've been arrested. I tried to stop them, but that guy's a prick," Charlie told them. 

"That was ballsy, sweetheart. Thanks for that," Clay told her. "Sorry you got hurt."

 "It's fine. And I don't like being called sweetheart." 

"Um...I hate to ruin a Club moment, my husband and Jax are being held for ransom by pissed off Russians," Kayla interjected. 

* * *

Jax and Opie laid on the ground of the house, heads facing each other. It was awkward because they were close enough to each other to kiss. "So...I proposed to Tara," Jax told Opie. 

"Really? Congrats man." 

"Thanks. Hell of a honeymoon."

"Should have just stayed in bed..." Opie began, snickering. "With my wife... the former porn star slash nanny." 

Both laughed until they had tears in their eyes. "They're never gonna make it from Dogtown in an hour," Jax told him. 

"I know," Opie breathed out.

Both Sons heard a car approaching. They heard grunting, then quick Russian. One of the Russians, hauled Jax up, pointing his direction of the car and SAMCROs two new best friends. "Who is this?"

"It's a Mexican guy and a Mexican guy," Jax smirked. He was tossed back to ground, where he grunted.

"Far enough. What do you want?" the Russian asked. 

"Hear you're looking for your guns," Romeo told the Russian.

"Yeah, they have your guns," Jax piped up.

"Where are they?" The Russian asked again. 

 "Some of them are right here. You can have the rest when you let them go," Romeo smiled. 

"That's shit. Bring us all the guns. 30 minutes. Or I kill them."

The Mexicans began to fight the Russians, who gained to be victorious. "Vamos," Romeo ordered, cutting the two Sons free. As they got up, they shook themselves off. "You boys all right?"

"Yeah, thanks," Jax told the older man. 

"Thank you," Opie nodded. 

"No problem. That's what friends are for."

Motorcycles came rolling down, parking next to the car. "Already missed all the fun," Jax told his club as they went over to them. 

"Gee. You all right, man?" Tig asked, brushing him off.

"Not really."

"How'd you know this was going down?" Clay asked the Cartel. 

"We got contacts in the ROC," Luis answered

"We have contacts everywhere."

"You guys lay down some serious shit," Jax admitted, seeing the dead Russians. 

"This relationship is very important to my organization. I'm sure this is the last we heard of Putlova's crew."

"Maybe we should cut one of 'em loose. Let him bring this memory back to his pals," Clay suggested, seeing one alive but badly beaten.

"The Wahewa will want retribution," Bobby informed him. 

Jax went over to one that roughed him up and kicked him, making the man grunt. "I volunteer him."

Laughing, Tig bent down and hauled the man up. "Come here, come here. Come here, bad boy."

"Looks like you got this under control," Romeo told Clay, shaking his hand. 

"Thank you."

"We'll be in touch."

"Hey, thank you," Jax called out. Romeo nodded, got inside his car, and drove away.

"So the cartel just showed up. They just showed up," Tig summarized.

"Cartel doesn't know we... we still have to vote this in, do they?" Bobby asked the president.

"That's our business, not theirs," Clay told them. 

* * *

 

Tara walked in on the carnage of the torn apart warehouse to see Gemma, Piney, Addie, Kayla, the prospects, Charlie, and a couple of sweetbutts try to clean up. "What the hell happened? Tig and somebody else have another round?" 

"No...fucking sheriff tore the place apart during a 'fire inspection'," Kayla seethed. "Laid a good one on Charlie." 

Tara turned and looked at the blonde with a butterfly bandage on her eye and her black eye. "Jesus...you report him?" 

"No...not much of a choice. He threw the first punch at Clay. I got in the middle. I don't think we met...I'm Charlotte, but you can call me Charlie." 

"Tara," Tara smiled, passing Abel off to Addie. Tara sat Thomas's carrier on top of a table. Hearing motorcycles roar up, they waited until the guys came in. "Jax?" Tara called out, noticing his bruised face.

Gently kissing it, she grabbed some alcohol wipes to clean him up. "I'm fine," Jax told her, smiling as she doctored him up.

"We should've stayed home," Opie told his wife, who reached up to kiss him.

"Hey, babe," Gemma told her husband.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked, placing a small band aide on his forehead.

"I'm all right," Jax reassured her.

"What happened?"

"Misunderstanding." 

"Daddy, ouchie!" Abel exclaimed, noticing the band aide on Jax's forehead.

"I know."

"You get a crew in here tomorrow, start fixing it up," Clay ordered the prospect.

Tara looked around, noticing that the morale was done. Clearing her throat, she got everybody's attention. "I have some good news. We're engaged." Smiling, she held out her right hand with the engagement ring on. 

"Whoa! Yeah!" people cheered.

"Congrats!" Kayla and Addie squealed, hugging their friend in a group hug. Kayla noticed Charlie being the outcast, and brought her in on the group hug. After all, they had to stick together. 

"Serve them up," Clay ordered the prospect pouring everybody a shot of vodka. 

"Hey, hey, let me have a little of that," Tig ordered, grabbing the whole bottle. 

Tara laughed as Clay engulfed her in his giant beefy arms. "Congratulations. My son," Clay smiled.

"What did I tell you? She's a good girl, huh?" Gemma asked her husband, hugging his arm. 

"Congratulations, brother," Opie told Jax, giving him a hug. 

"It's all good, bro. Promise," Jax reassured. 

"Hmm," Opie nodded. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Democracy

The next day after the announcement of Jax's and Tara's engagement, Gemma was a ball of nervous excitement. Her baby boy wasn't a baby anymore. He had a family of his own, a new house, and a future wife that she approved of. Unlike the Reno crank whore that he had married, Tara was good for her son. She was a strong old lady, smart, and fearless. She respected her son as her Old Man and as a patch. So, here she sat in the Teller-Knowles home, looking through wedding magazines with Tara as Abel played with his toy motorcyles, and Thomas sat on Gemma's lap, playing with her hair. 

"I'm so happy for you, Tara," Gemma smiled, shifting Thomas up on her lap. 

"Thanks," Tara smiled, putting down the magazine she had in her hand. "It's a little crazy, huh? Would you ever have imagine me marrying your son?" 

"I had a feeling," Gemma smirked. 

"You did not!" Tara laughed. "You hated me!" 

"I didn't hate you. I just didn't like you. Wendy, I did hate. I've seen you grown up from a bratty smar-mouthed teenager, to a hardcore Old Lady, woman, mother, and one of my closest friends. I can't wait until I call my daughter as well." 

Tara smiled, wiping away a tear from her cheek as she grabbed her hand. Letting go, Tara composed herself as she got out Abel's old stroller from the old supplies. Thomas and Abel were growing up so fast. Abel was almost two, and a spitball of energy. Abel was however just like his daddy, flashing that smile to get what he wanted from Tara, Gemma, and any other woman. Thomas was like Tara, a total sweetheart. He slept through the night, cried when he needed something, but loved his mother and grandmother. 

In the kitchen, Jax and Clay sat at the table drinking black coffee as they discussed the current situation that they had on hand. "We got Bobby, Piney, Juice opposed. Where we at with the rest?" Clay asked, sipping his coffee.

"Chibs knows we need this to fill our Irish commitment. He'll go our way. Tig and Happy, too."

"Still need one more. Kozik?" 

"Ex-junkie-- I'm thinking he's a no."

"We any closer with Ope?"

Sighing, Jax sat back in his chair. He knew that Opie was still against it. Opie wanted a life without vilonce with Kayla...something that he had cut off from Donna. "A little. He saw the benefit of having the cartel on speed-dial, but he's not there yet."

"Well, you need to get him there now. 'Cause Ope gives us Miles; that gets us the majority."

"And you need to work on Bobby. Very least, stop him from spreading woe," Jax told him, as Tara came pushing the stroller into the kitchen. "You using that?"

"Yeah. It's Abel's old one."

"I know-- it's a piece of shit," Jax smiled, remembering the deal he got when he bought it.  "Buy a new one."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we should probably put it in storage just in case one of the guys needs it," Tara smirked, thinking about Addie and Kayla. 

Jax chuckled, grabbing onto her hips. "Okay. Key's in the junk drawer."

Tara nodded, popping a kiss on his head as she went to grab the keys, while Jax got up and went to sit with his kids and mom. Hearing footsteps behind her, she whirled around to see Clay standing a few feet away from her. Gasping, she placed a hand over her heart. "Sorry," Clay told her, sheepishly.

"It's okay," Tara smiled, grabbing the keys. 

"I just wanted to thank you for the other night. You sharing the news when you did. That was a class act. It really helped."

"Of course."

"I'm so happy you're joining this family. You're already a great mom; you're gonna be a... great old lady."

Tara smiled, walking over to kiss Clay's rough cheek. "Thank you."

Blushing, Clay rubbed his hair with an achy hand, turning away. "Raising Jax was the best thing that ever happened to me. I love my son... as much as I loved his old man." Hearing a baby cry, they turned their heads towards the living room. "Sounds like the littlest SAMCRO member needs his mommy," Clay smirked.

Tara laughed, going to the living room, where Jax was bouncing Thomas, one large hand covering his back, and the other supporting his bottom. Seeing Jax with Thomas made Tara love the outlaw biker even more. The ring on her finger proved it, and she couldn't wait to be a part of this crazy family.

"Hey. I think he might need a change," Jax told her, bouncing the baby a bit more.

"Oh. You think? You know, these are actually disposable. You just take 'em off, put a new one on."

"Really? And here I thought this whole 'raising kids' thing was so hard on you." 

Tara chuckled sarcastically, grabbing her purse. "You should just get out of here before you're swimming in baby piss," Gemma told them, grabbing Thomas from Jax to go change him. 

"I love you," Jax whispered, kissing Tara.

"I love you, too." 

"Bye, honey. See you later," Gemma called out to Tara, kissing her cheek. 

As Tara left, Jax also left leaving behind Gemma and the three out of four favorite men in her life. Going to Thomas's nursery, she changed his diaper, carrying him back into the living room and placing him into his bouncer. Thomas gurgled, slobbering over the trinkets that were anchored around him. Abel came running through the living room, laughing as Clay ran after him. 

"Come here you little shit!" Clay huffed out, stopping to catch his breath. "Shit..." 

"He wearing you out baby?" Gemma laughed, grabbing Abel, who squirmed as she tickled him. "You having fun with Grandpa?" 

"Yes, Grandma! Me and Papa pay chase!" Abel laughed. 

"That kid is just like Jax at that age. Getting into trouble, being something else." 

"Funny how things come back around, huh?" Gemma asked, kissing his cheek. 

* * *

Since Happy had been at his aunt's house since the wedding, Addie missed him. So, when she got the text message from him telling her that he was being a dick to people because he missed her pussy, she hoped in the car. She left early into the evening after Tara's announcement. When she got there, she unlocked the door and found Happy in one of his childhood bedrooms. Their clothes were quickly shed, where they had hot passionate sex. The next morning, Happy woke with his girl sleeping across his chest and her leg nestled between his two. Running a hand up her smooth tanned thigh, he felt his cock twitch and began to harden. 

Addie felt him come to live, smirking as she rubbed her leg over his semi-hard. "Hey, baby," she smiled, kissing Happy as he rolled her on top of him. 

"Fuck..." Happy groaned out, feeling Addie's tight walls engulf his cock. Running a hand up her chest, his hands touched her lips gently. Addie braced her hands on Happy's colorful chest as she moved her hips in a wavelike motion. Kissing his thumb that was stroking her lips, she dug her nails into his chest as he thrusted his own hips up into her. Her breath caught in her throat, causing her to reach up and grab the headboard to keep her grounded as she felt her release coming quickly. 

"Shit...Hap..." she moaned, his hips quickening. 

"Say it," Happy grunted, his hands dropping to her hips gripping tightly. 

"Fucking hell! I love you," she gasped out, her eyes closing as she came. 

Happy grabbed her, rolling onto her back as he pounded into her hard and fast. Addie's thighs quivered as they locked around his waist. Her second release came harder than her first one, causing Happy to come with her, rasping out profanities and sweet nothings. As they came down from their high, Happy rolled off of her, laying on his back. 

"I fucking missed you." 

"I missed you too," Addie smiled, kissing his cheek. Getting up, she went pee and dressed in grey spandex running shorts, a grey and purple sports bra, and a purple tank top. Throwing her hair into a messy pony tail, she grabbed her running shoes and socks. Slipping them on, she grabbed her iPod out of her purse and her burner phone. "I'm going for a run." Bending over, she grabbed her running jacket from her duffel bag. 

"Bend over again, baby. That ass of yours is beautiful," Happy smirked, laying back on the bed. 

"Hum-hmm," Addie hummed, grabbing the spare key to slip inside her pocket. "That's why I run and now kick box. To keep it tight. Besides, in the words of Gemma Teller Morrow. Nobody likes a fat old lady." Pecking his lips, she smiled. "Love you." 

"You too," Happy called out to her, laying back down to go to sleep. Addie had taken up more exercise as a way to keep her mind off of things. Her new therapist told her that exercise would help control her anxiety and panic attacks. The attack on her, Tara, and Kayla made her paranoid. She had nightmares when she slept, so she got addicted to aderol. It wasn't until she nearly went crazy when her friends and family put her feet down. What really touched her was Ricky's involvement, being released from the mental hospital finally, that got her on track. Kayla and Tara sat with her as she went through withdraw, and Kozik began to take her to meetings. She started to see a therapist to help navigate through her emotions and fears. 

She raced around the street several times until she landed back up at Happy's aunts house. Miles was outside, loading duffel bags of guns into Happy's truck. Kozik was drinking a glass of iced tea, watching the newest patch load up the truck. Happy came out of the house, wearing nothing but his sagging jeans, his sculpted chest on display for all to see. Addie's felt her body getting warm, and licked her lips as a bead of sweat fell down between his two pecs. 

"Hey, baby," Happy smiled, kissing her. 

"Hey..." Addie smiled back, running a hand down his chest. 

"Hey, dickhead, you the one made pancakes?" Happy asked Miles, his hand going down to cup Addie's ass. 

"Yeah." 

"You gonna clean your shit up?" 

"Now?"

"Yeah. Now. Who the hell you think's gonna do it?" 

"Your mom and aunt," Kozik smirked.

"They ain't your maids."

"Just thought we should load these first."

"No, go. He hates messy," Addie warned, knowing about Happy's OCD tendencies. 

"Get inside there. Yo, G! You want to toss me that rock?" Happy asked, motioning to the basketball in the garage.

"Yo, Buckwheat, want to keep your shirt on?" Kozik asked, tossing him the basketball.

"Thanks," Happy nodded, tossing Addie the ball. Addie began to dribble it, smirking at the two men. "Hey, you ball?"

"Not today, man."

"What's the matter, surfer dude, scared of a little hood ball?" Happy asked, smirking. "I bet you that Addie could kick your lily white ass. Come on, ten bucks a point."

"Shut up, bitch-- you ain't got no money. And when have we ever seen Addie play a sport." 

"I grew up in Chicago...the sports capital of the world, and I grew up with four brothers. So, we either played or watched."

"That's bullshit. I got money," Happy huffed.

"How much you got?" Kozik asked, dribbling the basketball. 

"Like... three hundred and something?" Happy shrugged. 

"All right, LeBrown. Who ever makes the most baskets takes it all. You in, Addie?" 

"Fuck, yeah, my lemon-headed sucker," Addie smiled. 

Nearby, a couple of street thugs looked inside the truck bed looking at the different. "Yeah. Oh, look at this..." 

* * *

Kayla worked on the secret panels at the bottom of the crates to hide the newest batches of guns. While she wanted things to change with the dangerous shit, she didn't mind the new inflow of cash. She wanted a new house with Opie...something that they could call theirs. While she loved her new husband, the place still smelled and looked like Donna was living there. She wanted a fresh start with him...not being the left overs. 

"Look at my happy little elves," Clay grinned, seeing the progress as the group continued to work.

"Look great. How do they hold?" Jax asked, inspecting a crate. 

"Hold between 10 and 16, depending on the gun. The weight matches the car parts," Opie answered. 

"Beautiful."

"Chibs got the specs from the Irish. I did the math, and the design," Kayla smiled, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"My girl's a fucking genius," Opie grinned.

"Where is Chibs, by the way?" Jax asked, not seeing the middle-aged Scots man. 

"Don't ask," Phil answered, imagining the mess he will have to clean up.

"Bathroom, working shit out," Tig told Jax. 

"Literally. All that processed food," Juice smirked. 

At that moment, Chibs came outside groaning, holding his achy stomach. Jax could tell he wasn't feeling well. He was pale and had a light sheen of sweat on his skin. "Shit, you all right, man?" Jax asked.

Chibs exhaled, plopping himself down at a table. He felt like death. And to make matters worst, Charlie was back in her apartment in LA. After the raid, Charlie wanted to go back. She wasn't used to something like this. Despite liking each other, and slowly falling for her, they were from two different worlds. "Something didn't settle right. Cheap Mexican food," Chibs answered. That was one of the reason. The other was the nagging feeling that Charlie was dodging his phone calls and texts. 

"Chasing burritos with Jack and James probably didn't help," Bobby smirked.

"Juicy, you're gonna hit me up, yeah?" Chibs begged. 

"Green tea and a mint colonic-- a little herbal fusion..." Juice rattled off. 

"Stop, stop, stop. Stop," Tig chanted, slapping his hands over his ears. 

"Before we clear anybody's passage, let's just get these crates built. Bobby, you're with me. Wahewa," Clay ordered, nodding to one of his oldest friends.

"Why do you need me?" Bobby asked, surprised. 

"'Cause I miss you, man."

"You want me with?" Tig asked, ready to saddle up. 

"Nah, nah, we're good. Stay available. May need somebody to haul some ammo," Clay told him, heading off. 

Tig looked dumbfounded as Clay and Bobby hopped on their bikes and headed out. "Hey, shithead. Go clean up the bathroom where Chibs shit in..." Tig snapped, turning his steely blue eyes on Filthy Phil. 

* * *

"How the hell is Addie beating both of our asses?" Kozik huffed out, as Addie dribbled past him to make another basket. So far, Kozik had 18 baskets, Happy had 12, and Addie had a whopping 29. 

Happy glared as his spitfire wife came bounding towards him, the ball bouncing onto the pavement and her fingertips. Squinting he waited until she was within arms reach, and grabbed her. Addie squealed as Happy wrapped an arm around her waist, swinging up up into the air. The ball bounced away, where Kozik grabbed, and started to dribble towards the hoop. "No! Foul, foul!" Addie cried out, laughing. Happy chuckled, seeing Kozik make the basket. Putting down his wife, Happy's hands found a home on her perky tight ass, squeezing. "You're such an asshole!" 

"I know..." Happy muttered, kissing her neck. 

"Hey, quite it!" Kozik laughed, seeing Happy basically eat Addie's face. 

Happy flipped him the bird, breaking away from his wife. "Still call foul," Addie told them, grabbing the ball away from Kozik. "Free throw. If I make it, game over." 

As Addie positioned herself to make the basket, they heard a couple of catcalls. Turning their heads, they saw two young men wearing baggy and sagging clothes eyeing Addie. Happy grunted, crossing his arms. "Damn Brewster! That is one fine ass chick!" one of the men told them. 

"I wouldn't mind taking her for a ride, Frecks." 

Addie rolled her eyes, looking over to see the deadly look in Happy's eyes. One thing about Happy was his inability to share. As far as anybody was concerned, Addie's pussy was his and only his. Anybody tries to brush up on her would meet the business end of his favorite glock, or his fun bag of instruments. "Baby," Addie called out, catching his attention. 

"What?" Happy snapped. 

"I will make you a deal. If I make this basket, we get to eat a nice meal together...in bed," she smirked, knowing how much he hated crumbs in the sheets. 

"And if you don't?" he asked, crossing his arms. 

"Then you can fuck me however and whenever you want," she smirked. 

"Anywhere?" Happy asked, thinking about places they haven't done it yet. 

"Yes...deal?" 

"Hells yes." 

Addie positioned her self, and bent her knees to make the basket. As soon as she was ready to let the ball go, they heard the sounds of a truck door closing and a truck engine starting. Stopping, they whirled around and saw the truck of guns peel down the street. 

"Son of a bitch!" Kozik yelled, sprinting down the street. Happy immediately hopped on his bike in nothing by his jeans and headed after the truck. Miles quickly followed behind him, but soon they returned. "You got to be shitting me!" 

"We need to call Jax," Happy told them, going inside to put on a shirt and his kutte. 

* * *

"All right, I'm coming," Jax said into the reciever, hanging up. 

"What's going on?" Opie asked, eyeing his wife's ass in her jean shorts as she bent over a car. 

"That was Miles. Some kind of hiccup with the guns."

"Should I call Clay?" Juice asked. 

"No, him and Bobby need some quality time. Stay here, get the other prospects to help finish these up." Chibs groaned, placing his head down onto the table. "Take care of him."

"Absolutely."

"You're with us. Follow in the van. Let's go," Jax ordered, nodding to Filthy Phil.

"I'm going with," Tig told his VP, hopping out of his chair.

"Clay wanted you to stay here."

"No, I'm not gonna be his little ammo bitch, bro, I'm not gonna do it. If there's a problem with those guns, I should be there." The truth was that Tig was a little hurt that Clay had benched him and took Bobby instead. Just like Bobby said, he was pushing them out of his inner circle.

"All right, Tiggy," Jax nodded, grabbing his helmet. 

Meanwhile, Bobby and Clay arrived at the reservation. Both men walked around, the silence thick. "I know you didn't bring me out here for my vast knowledge of projectiles," Bobby told his current president. 

"I wanted to talk to you alone."

"Say what ya gotta say, Prez," Bobby sighed.

"The beating we took over these last few years you know has set us way back."

"Part of the life. I didn't join this club to get rich."

"It ain't about getting rich, it's about getting whole. This club needs an infusion."

"How'd you get the boy to sign off on this? Drugs nearly killed his first-born. He's changed. He's gone way inside. I... I don't know what pushed him there. Maybe it was the time..."

"Maybe it was me?" Clay asked.

"I don't know. He's not the same guy."

"Well, he sure knows what's best for this club."

"Oh, kill the bullshit, we're not sitting around the table. You're sprinting for the door, stuffing your pockets before it slams shut. I get that. But what's Jax get out of it?"

"You know what? You think whatever the hell you want to about me, 'cause I don't give a shit. My main concern is the future of this MC. And I'll tell you what Jax gets out of it, 'cause that's what I brought you out here to talk about. Only thing is, I need for this to stay between you and me, you understand?" Clay asked. Taking a deep breath, Clay let loose. "Jax knows that I'm fading fast. I can barely hold onto my bike anymore. Gemma has to shoot me up four to five times a day now. Jax wants things to change. He's got two sons, he's got a old lady he loves. He wants a better life for his family. He knows that he can't change things too quickly...they're would be lash backs. But I'm tired, brother. This club has been my life for 19 years. I want to retire comfortorable so I can take care of my old lady. Spend time with my grandsons. But I'm sure not gonna let Jax break the club." 

"He backs the drugs, you help him change the way things are," Bobby realized.

"Yep."

"What's that got to do with me?"

"You're the guy I endorse to replace me," Clay told him. As much as he loved his step-son, Jax wasn't ready to take over the gavel. His head wasn't in the right place at the moment...he needed a little more time to season.

"Yeah, if I vote for the drugs, you'll... "

"It's not about any vote. I'm handing you the gavel... because you're the best guy for the job. If you want it. I'm giving you my word."

"You looking for Charlie Horse?" a Wahewa woman asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"He's out in the South Res. Come on, follow me," the woman told them. They followed her on their bikes, getting off when they saw Charlie Horse waiting. 

"Gentlemen. This way, please," Charlie Horse told them, ushering them to follow. 

"What the hell we doing out here, Charlie?" Clay asked.

"Tribal matters. Also, it gives us a chance to talk privately about this increase in demand."

"Is that a problem?"

"Labor, no. Compensation, yes. I know you're selling our ammo to the Mexicans now."

"Our deal with the Wahewa's set, doesn't matter who we're selling to."

"I'm not living in a teepee, Clay. The cartel is a risk for you, I know you gotta be charging more for our bullets. I just want to make sure that the Wahewa get their piece."

"Jesus Christ..." Clay shuddered, seeing the Russian buried to the dirt, with only head showing. Ants covered his head. 

"There's a word in the Wintu language, means 'mourning war'. Families of our dead sons ask the gods to choose their revenge. They chose slow death by flesh-eating ants," Charlie Horse explained.

"That's some real cowboy and Indian shit, Chief."

"It's about closure. You play a part in his passing over into the spirit realm. I'll be right back."

"How long they gonna leave him out here?" Bobby asked. 

"I guess till the picnic's over," Clay answered. 

"Are you gonna give Charlie his bump? I mean, we are charging the Mexicans almost 50% more for the same ammo."

"I'm gonna give Charlie dick. Because as far as he knows, we're charging the Mexicans the same as we charge anybody else," Clay answered.  

* * *

 

Gemma sat with Wayne, with Thomas in his stroller and Abel sitting in a chair next to them. "So, how are you feeling now?" Gemma asked, cutting up Abel's chicken tenders from the local diner. 

"Better. How are things between you, Tara, Jax, and Clay?" 

"Tara doesn't know anything...but recently, Jax has been doing things differently. It's like he's changed." 

"How?" 

"He's more sensible to things now. He's not quick to jump into action before. He's more calm, caculated...he's not the same young biker anymore." 

"Jax has been through some serious shit in the past couple of years. He became a father, saw his best friend loose his wife, learned that his mother got brutally raped, lost his son, found love, and went to prison. That's alot for somebody." 

"It's just hard to see my baby become a man. He's no longer chasing pussy. He's a dad to two, and soon to be a husband."

"Sounds like somebody is getting the belated empty nester," Wayne smirked. 

"Shut the fuck up, Wayne. Abel is enough to keep me young. Poor Clay had to chase him around...I thought he was going to need a hit off of Piney's oxygen tank." 

"So, how are things with the JT situation?" 

"I'm starting to feel quilty. I was so caught up in my own grief and Clay to know that JT was hurting? If Jax ever found out, he would hate me." 

"No, he won't. He probably be hurt, but he would still love you. You're his mom, and if I know Jax Teller, he's a momma's boy." 

* * *

For somebody to say that Jax Teller was no longer quick to action was somebody saying that the sky wasn't blue. "Someone stealing our guns is a hiccup?" Jax asked, his arms crossed.

"Are you shitting me?" Tig asked, glaring at the four quilty parties. 

"They took the truck, thinking it was full of booze. It only had one case of AR-15's," Kozik answered. 

"Those guns are already sold, asshole. The cartel is expecting all of them in two days," Jax seethed, about to loose his shit. 

"I get it!"

"No, what you get, is jacked by a bunch of ghetto babies, asshole." That was Kozik's breaking point. As much as Addie loved Kozik like a brother, she always forgot how he was granted to title of the SAMTAC's SAA. He was a cold blooded killer. 

Kozik threw a punch at Jax, but Opie was quick to break it up as the two men squabbled. "All right, all right," Opie shouted.

"Hey, all right, down!" Tig shouted, grabbing Kozik.

"Let him go! Let him go!" Jax ordered, breathing heavily.

"Hang on!" Tig yelled, trying to restrain the pissed off former SAA. 

"Save it for church!" Opie told him.

"Let's just get the guns back, bro," Tig told Kozik who calmed down. 

Kozik nodded, regaining his composure. "They're not gonna hit the streets with that shit. Okay, they're gonna try and sell them."

"All right, shut up."

"This hood? Only one place to do that," Happy told them.

"Vivica. French fence," Addie nodded, looking at her husband. The rest of the guys looked at her like she's grown two heads. "You guys keep forgetting that we were together for five years before you guys came along. This was our go to place when we needed a break.I know this neighborhood like the back of my hand." 

"They better be there," Jax sighed, walking over to his bike. 

Happy looked down at his wife, kissing her. "Stay here, baby. If anything goes down because of this, I would rather be with you. The spare gun is in the gun safe." 

"I'll be okay. Just do some work to keep me occupied," Addie smiled, watching him leave. After he left, she sighed and turned to her sketch book. As much as she loved her new business, it's what she really wanted to do. It was a good start, but she really wanted to be a fashion designer. She loved designing and creating new clothing. But she was always scared to jump in into the new business. She already designed and made dresses in her shop. It was a first step, but she wanted to take it. If she just had enough courage...

"Truck got jacked a couple hours ago. We're thinking you may be their first stop," Jax told the older black woman, where they sat in her living room.

"Do I look like I buy guns?" Vivica asked.

"Well, maybe you know the kids. Brewster. He called his buddy Frecks," Kozik stated. 

"I got enough kids. Don't need to know anyone else's. Look, if you want iPads, microwaves, or organic vegetables, I'm your Nubian goddess. But guns... that's dirty business. Not my flow. Everybody around here knows that. Luther, Vandross. Show them out."

The Sons got up to leave, but Jax stopped. "Well, if, for some reason, they do flow your way, we need to know." 

"The only thing you need to know is that my soil is in desperate need of aeration."

"Wouldn't wanna get between you and your dirt."

"I appreciate that."

"I don't believe her, man," Tig told his VP, as they exited the building. 

"Got no choice. We rock that boat, gonna blow back on the whole neighborhood. My aunt and mom included," Happy told the group. 

"Shit, that's them!" Kozik exclaimed, seeing the two punks. 

"You stay here in case the truck shows up," Jax ordered, going after them. Looking around, Jax ushed the others tol follow him. "Go, go, go!" 

"Shit!" Frecks stated, looking inside the truck. 

Nearby, police sirens wailed, coming to their direction. "Shit. Cops find our guns, these shitheads'll lead 'em right back to Happy's aunt's house," Jax cursed.

"Hey, I got this," Kozik nodded. Kozik got on his bike, and roared off after them. Jax smirked, and followed after him, with all of the guys now being in a high speed chase. 

"Pull over!" the cops yelled. The sirens stopped, as the truck pulled over. "Keep your hands where we can see 'em."

Kozik reved his engine, and raced off, making the officers curse. "Let's go!"

"License and registration, please," Jax smirked, clapping a hand the roof of the truck. 

"Oh shit!" Brewster yelled, looking in the glovebox for a gun. Instead he found a women's push up bra that had a lacy flower razer back. "What the hell?" 

Happy saw red when he saw the punks messing with Addie's underwear. One thing about his wife, is that she always kept a spare change of underwear in the glove box in case of emergencies. And with her, upstairs always matches the downstairs. "Dude...is that Addie's?" Jax asked, seeing the matching purple underwear in the glove box. 

"Of course it's Addie's! This is partially her truck!" Happy growled. 

"Well...let's shake things up." 

"No, man, let me out, man, let me out!" Brewster yelled, clinging to the door as the truck shook violently.

"Man, you cracker-ass bitches trying to kill us?!" Frecks asked.

"That's the plan, unless you start talking," Jax grinned.

"I don't know what you're talking about, okay?! I don't!" Jax nodded to Happy, who ripped open the door and hauled out Brewster. "Oh, shit."

"No, no!" Brewster begged.

"Lying bitch!" Kozik cursed, getting up in his face. 

"Hey, man, what's wrong with you?! Listen, listen, listen! Yo, what are you doing?! Yo, man, what are you...? Let me go, man!" Frecks begged, as Tig hauled him out of the car. 

"Hey, hey, listen to me. Listen to me. Now this guy here, he's cracked three of my ribs giving me a hug. Now he is gonna shatter your boy's face, unless you give it up," Tig explained, forcing him to stare at Happy and Brewster. 

"All right, goddamn, man, just listen! We sold it to Vivica. Luther only gave us half the cash. We were headed to get the rest when y'all spotted us. The money's in the glove box next to a pair of ladies panties!."

Happy growled, pushing Brewster into Kozik, checking the glove box. Sure enough, there was an envelope. "HIt's here."

"We unloaded the truck on Langley."

"Okay," Tig nodded.

"I'm calling Miles," Opie told Jax, stepping away.

"I knew that bitch was lying, Jax."

"Or these assholes are. Put him in the trunk."

"Get up!" Happy growled, grabbing Frecks.

"Man, come on! We told ya!"

"Go check on the truck."

"We told ya everything we kn--" Frecks started to say, but he was locked in. 

* * *

 

Tara just finished a surgery, and was now relaxing with a wedding magazine. As much as she hated the club sometimes, she loved her family. She wouldn't change any of them...Chibs's Scottish accent and helping hand, Bobby's baking, Tig's innuendo's, Opie's warm brown eyes, the prospects, Gemma and Clay, her best friends, and her children. Hearing a knock on the door, she removed her feet from her desk. "Come in."

"Surgery went well?" Margeret asked, coming in. 

"Yes. Routine diaphragmatic hernia."

"I was just coming by to see how the new job is doing." 

"Going well. Thank you for, for doing this. The recommendation for me," Tara smiled. Even after the problems they had before, the two women learned to be civil with each other. "I was supposed to ask you...do you know any good orthopedic surgeons that does arthritis surgery? Clay's hands have been bothering him lately." 

"I'll see what I can do..." Margaret told her, giving Tara a tight smile. "Is it true you're engaged?" 

"Yeah. That going to be a problem?" Tara asked, tightly. 

"Just...be careful..." 

"What the fuck does that mean?" 

"It means to watch your back." 

"I do...always. But this is my family...my home. I'm not going anyway." 

Tara sighed as Margaret left, slipping her blue surgery shoes back on. Smiling at a picture of Jax, Thomas, and Abel, she exited her office, locking the door behind her. 

* * *

Happy came back soon after, looking a bit distressed. "What's wrong?" Addie asked. 

"Fuckin' Vivica has the guns. Where's Ma and Cece?"

"They're at the market? You think that Vivica's going to target them? Hap...she gives them tomatoes from her garden." 

"I don't fuckin' care..." Happy grounded out, grabbing his gun from the waist band and sitting in his mom's favorite chair. He dared the mother fucker to break into his family's home. 

"Hey, hey, hey, easy, easy, man, easy. Just wanna talk to your mom," Jax told one of Vivica's sons. 

"It's okay, boys," Vivica told Luther, allowing Jax and Tig to come in.

"Appreciate you taking care of my crew," Jax told the older woman, seeing Ope and Miles drinking a cup of coffee.

"They looked a little thirsty. And I don't like white boys spying on me."

"Yeah, well, we tracked down the crew that jacked our guns. Said they sold 'em to you."

"What the hell is it with you guys? I don't have your goddamn guns!"

"Maybe your boys know something about it," Opie suggested.

"Yeah, how 'bout it, boys? You taking on a little side biz mama don't know about?" Jax asked, reaching for his glock in his holster on his shoulder. 

"You idiots!" Vivica yelled, glaring at her two sons. "What the hell were you twp cat-brain morons thinking?"

"Sorry, Ma. It was supposed to be a surprise. We was gonna get you that F-350 Super Duty," Luther apologized. 

"We know how much you love that truck, Ma. Had even had a red one all picked out and shit," Vandross nodded.

"My apologies. Give them their guns! All of them!"

The boys ran to grab the box of guns. Upon returning, Opie grabbed them, nodding his head to take them back to Addie's and Happy's truck.

"For your troubles. Tell Happy I'll send his mom some tomatoes and tell him there's something in there for him and Addie as a wedding present," Vivica told them, handing them a wooden box full of produce. "Family meeting inside! Luther, Vandross!"

"Come on, killer," Jax told Tig, who was ready to shoot someone's brains out.

"I said now!"

"That one there, she makes Gemma look like Donna Reed," Tig grinned as they walked out of the house. 

"I'm suddenly I'm feeling a little less dysfunctional," Jax laughed. 

* * *

Tara just finished up another surgery, and now sat in her office, doing paperwork for the day so she could enjoy her night with her Old Man and her sons. Hearing a knock, she expected it to be Murphey again, but was surprised to see Gemma. "Hi," Tara smiled, pushing the folder away.

"Sorry to barge in. In the middle of something?"  Gemma asked.

"No. Just finished surgery. Just paperwork. Have a seat." Gemma sat down across from Tara, putting her handbag down by his feet. "What's up?"

"Just thinking about some shit." Gemma reached in, and grabbed a piece of paper from her handbag. "You ever see this before?"

"No..." Tara answered, looking at the messy handwriting. "Why? What is it?"

"A note... talks about some letters."

"Letters to whom?"

"To Marueen Ashby." 

"The woman that called you about Abel?" 

"That one...I don't know what's in the letters, but...what I do know is that letters from John Teller would be a very painful for my son to read."

"Why?" Tara asked, concerned for Jax's welfare.

"John was in love with Maureen Ashby. When we were in Belfast, found out she had a kid with him. Stirred up all that old shit. I had already fallen in love with Clay. When Thomas died... I didn't care anymore. I didn't even try to hide it. That was a mistake. Put Clay at risk... it was humiliating for JT. Jax doesn't know any of that. Him finding out could set things off with Clay again," Gemma explained, wiping away a couple of tears. "John ripped me apart. Spent months at a time in Belfast with her. Left me here. Alone. With his sons...one who was dying."

Tara's heart broke for the SAMCRO queen. She had never seen Gemma so broken down before...not when she was raped, or the prospect of her son being a possible rat. Tara grabbed a couple of tissues from her box on the desk, and handed them to Gemma. "I'm so sorry." 

"I loved him. Like you and Jax. I was 19. He was my goddamn world. This ain't good for anybody. You understand me? Wherever this leads, this is bad for our family."

Tara nodded. "What happened to John? Tell me..."

Gemma sighed. "When he found out about me and Clay...he caught us in bed. He was so hulimiated, but he said that he understood and saw it coming. I mean...he left me here with a dying little boy...he escaped his own grief to spend time in Ireland with pussy. Clay was there for me...but Thomas had just died. He wrote me a letter...telling me that I became the woman he married and he loved me. And that he forgave me...then he drank and smoked himself to oblivion, and met the front end of a semi..." 

Tara was dumbfounded. "Jesus Crhist..." 

* * *

Back at the clubhouse, Addie helped them unload the guns from the truck. Not being able to find her husband, Addie saw Happy sitting in his old dorm room, head in hands. "Okay...you've been like this since your aunt's house. Tell me what's wrong?" 

Happy looked up at his Old Lady. "Do you really want to know?" 

"Yes...I do. I know that sometimes you look like me like I'm some weak delicate flower...but I'm not. The past fourteen months, I pulled my self out of the whole of my mind and put the pieces back together. I went to speech therapy three times a week, and physical therapy for ten months to get my hand back in shape so I can do the one thing that I love the most besides you. I started popping Aderol like candy to stop the nightmares. I went to a shrink, started putting my fustrations into my work." 

"Clay wants us to run drugs for the cartel." 

Addie's breath hitched. Shaking away to shock, she sighed, and ran her manicured nails down his bald scalp. Happy shivered a bit, and began to relax. Forcing him to look at her, her bright blue eyes bore into his black ones. "You are a good man...I know that you don't believe it sometimes, but you are. Those smiley faces means that you care for your family. You protect those that can't do it themselves. Because, you use this..." Addie placed a hand over his heart. "You do what you need to do, and I follow you to the ends of the earth." 

Bobby stopped Gemma in the hallway. "Your old man wants us running drugs for the cartel. And all those other drones at the table, they're gonna follow him right down to that last little crumb. Talk some sense into him, Gemma." Bobby was always loyal to Clay, and the promise of him being at the table wasn't going to get his vote. He loved this club, and he was sure going to spend every waking moment to make sure that the right people sat on the throne after Clay was gone. Come hell or high water. 

"You guys are running coke for the Mexicans?" Gemma asked, seeing Clay in a dorm room.

"What? Who told you that?"

"Not you."

"You don't need to know."

"Drugs are not what we do... " Gemma started to say, but was cut off by a hand around her throat/

Gemma gasped as Clay gave a little squeeze. "You don't tell me what we do." Letting her go, he stalked towards the chapel. 

"Everything okay?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah. Let's just get this done," Clay huffed. 

"Hey. You really think that we can handle the drug end of this?" Opie asked Jax. 

"I know we can," Jax nodded. 

"Getting as cocky as Clay, too. That's not a bad thing, man. You came out harder. Looking like a guy who can lead a club. That bullshit today, you handled it, man."

"Thanks."

"You got my vote and Miles. But when we're done with the cartel and Clay is gone, it's you and me sitting at the head of that table. Get this back to the way it should be. You good with that?" Opie asked, holding out to his brother. Jax nodded, and took his hand as they bro hugged.

"You've all had time to think on this. Yea or nay: We get in business with the Galindo Cartel. Yea," Clay voted.

"Yea," Tig nodded.

"I don't trust 'em. No," Chibs voted.

"Yea," Opie stated, earning a glare from his father.

"I'm a yea," Miles voted, backing his sponsor. 

"Nay," Piney voted, glaring at his son. 

"Nay," Juice voted, not wanting to be in deeper shit.

"No," Bobby voted, not looking at Clay.

Happy thought about what Addie said. Listening to his heart, he voted. "I'm sorry. I'm a no."

Kozik resisted the urge to scratch his arm where the left over track marks were, but voted. "Backing my Prez and VP. Yea."

"Yea," Jax voted, ending the vote.

"Six-five. It passes," Clay stated, banging the gavel on the table. Looking around his table, he knew that one of his brothers ratted him to his wife. Who...he just didn't know yet. 

 


	3. Fall Out

The next morning after the vote, Tara came out of the bathroom to see Jax sitting shirtless in their bed writing. Things were a bit tense after Jax's latest bombshell about the vote. But true to her word, she was sticking next to her man. She just wanted him to be safe. "Morning," Tara greeted, plopping back down on the bed. 

"Morning," Jax grinned.

"What are you writing?"

"Just jotting some things down."

"What kinds of things? My badass biker is journaling?" Tara teased, ripping the notepad out of his hands, and straddling his lap. 

"I got to get ready," Jax grinned, running his hands up her thighs and sides of her body.

"When are you back?"

"Couple days."

"You really going down there for a bike show?"

"You want to know more?"

Tara nodded, intertwining their fingers together. Jax began to tell her about the bike run, and their plans. "You going to stay safe?" 

"Yeah. Even though that we voted us for the drugs though, we have several supporters backing us up. Bobby, Juice, Happy, Piney, and Chibs."

"But you voted yes."

"I did...nobody's going to vote me in just yet. They think that I'm too young...to inexperince. I got to prove myself. Then things are going to change."

"Like what?"

"Making the club whole. I'm thinking about partnering with Addie...maybe help her start a biker gear line. Then change some rules about race."

"What about race."

"Juice came to me...the good Sheriff pulled him inside...Juice is half black. But that's against club policy. Juice is a good kid...smart, good with bikes, and a good Intelligence officer. Just because he's half black doesn't mean that they're somehting wrong with him. That's like saying we're hipocrits. Like we're like those fucking scumbags Weston and Zobelle and their white is right bullshit. I want our sons to grow up loving different types of people, regardless of race, orientation, looks...that we all bleed red blood."

Tara's heart moved at Jax's words. "And that's why I love you..." Tara grinned, kissing Jax and pushing him down on the mattress. Packing would have to wait for an hour or so.

* * *

Kayla tied on Opie's saddlebags to his bike as he said goodbye to the twins. "You two be good for Kayla. I don't want to hear no bullshit, alright?" Reaching the ripe age of 11, Kenny and Ellie were begining to grow and reach the end of their childhoods before reaching adolescence. The attitude was present, and as well the constant eating and other things. Ellie was more interested in hanging out at the mall with her friends and talking to others. She kept pressuring Opie and Kayla for a cellphone, but the two weren't going to buy into her demands quite yet. Kenny was starting to grow like a weed, and eating them out of the house. At their last physical, the doctor told Opie that Kenny might be as tall or taller than his six foot six height. 

"Ok, dad. Love you," Kenny told his father, hugging him. 

"Bye, daddy," Ellie smiled, giving him a hug as well. As they scurried off to get ready for school, Kayla sighed, and came over to him, hugging him. Today, she wore a pair of jeans, a black wife beater, and her blue TM work shirt. 

"You going to be alright?" Opie asked, wrapping an arm around her tiny waist. 

"What...being left home alone with two preteens who sometimes hate my guts? Please...no problem." 

"I can't believe they're going to be in seventh grade next year. That's terrifying." 

"They're growing up, babe. You can't stop them. What I am worried about is Kenny's new found agression. I'm thinking about enrolling him in a sport...maybe football or lacross?" 

"Lacross? Isn't that white guy preppy sport?" 

"Yeah, where boys run into each other. I thought it might help." 

"What about the drama queen?"

"I don't know. I'm lost on that one. I was more of a tomboy growing up." 

"We'll figure something out...I need to head out. I love you." 

"I love you too," Kayla grinned as Opie wrapped his other arm around her waist. Reaching up, she kissed him, sucking on his bottom lip. Opie smirked, reaching for her ass. 

"Naughty girl...I'll see you in a couple of days." 

"Love you," Kayla called out, as Opie started his bike to head over to the clubhouse. 

* * *

Charlie sighed, rubbing her eyes as she sat at her desk. She hadn't talked to Chibs in a couple of days. It wasn't because of the raid...it was because she was afraid of what his reaction would be. 

_Charlie sat at her desk, filling out divorce papers for a client. Hearing a knock on the door, she glanced up to see her boss. "Mind if I come in?" he asked, leering down at her._

_"Sure...I guess," she told him, nodding her head._

_Max came in and sat on top of her desk, making him seem bigger to her. Hiding a shiver, she glanced up at her. "So...I haven't seen you around lately."_

_"I've been in Charming...with my boyfriend," she answered._

_"You're boyfriend...I didn't know you had a boyfriend."_

_"It's new."_

_"I hope you're not getting your priorites mixed up...I would hate to loose my favorite employee." As the words chilled her, his actions chilled her more. Max ran a hand down her face to her throat, wrapping a hand around it. "You know, Charlie...I'm quite fond of you." His hands continued to move to her shoulder where he squeezed. "You know...you're a good lawyer. I would hate for your career to be tarnished with a bad repuation." With that, he s_ _queezed her shoulder tightly. "I hope you know what to do..."_

Charlie knew what he was getting at. He wanted sex for her employment. She needed this job though. If her father ever found out, he would call her pathetic. She made sure she went out and bought a taser. Found her old MMA and self defense teacher, and hired him to help train her again. She got the state of the art security system for her apartment. With her knowledge of MMA and self defense, she made sure to makes sure that she would be armed. She wasn't going back out out of fight. Hearing a knock on her office door, she grabbed her taser, making sure that she wasn't going to be someone's whore. Looking up, she saw Chibs enter. "Hey..." she greeted, discretely putting her taser away. 

"Hey...I was just telling you we're going on to a bike rally for a couple of days. Just making sure that you're okay." 

"I'm fine..." Charlie smiled tightly. 

"You sure, luv? You seem a bit tense." Chibs took a step closer to her, and brushed her hair back. Seeing the bruise on her shoulder, he inwardly cursed. "What the hell happened?" 

"Nothing...I was walking home when I got mugged," Charlie lied. How to explain for your temperamental boyfriend that your boss has been harassing you, so you take intense lessons on how to kick ass? 

"Charlie...is somebody bothering you? If there is...I could help..."

"I said I'm fine...I can take care of myself." Charlie sighed, and looped her arms around his neck. "My dad taught me to defend myself. I'll be fine...just promise me that you'll take care of yourself." 

"I promise," Chibs smiled, still uneasy..."Can I call you when I get back? Maybe we can catch dinner or somethin'?" 

"Yeah...I would love too." Kissing his scared cheek, she moved her lips to his, hugging him tightly. Sighing, her eyes looked down as she stroked his soft hair. She could take care of herself. Her father made sure of that when he got deployed all of those times. 

* * *

Addie smiled as Happy loaded up his bike to head out. "Hey...I got you somethin'," Happy told her, grabbing the box from his saddlebag. 

"Happy...you didn't have to get me anything," Addie grinned, grabbing the box. Opening it, she gasped at the lavender notebook with her initals engraved into the cover with a ships wheel. Along with it, was expenive colored pencils and graphite pencils. "Happy...they're gorgeous." 

"I want you to start designing again. I know you have the boutique, but I also know that's not quite enough for you. One day, I want you to own the world with your clothing. I want to see a tag with your initals on it. Show the world the crazy and talented freak you are." 

Addie grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Takes one to know one. Sometimes I think we know each other better than we know ourselves. I love you." 

"I love you too," Happy grinned, picking her up to kiss her. Setting her back on her feet, he pulled away, and walked to his bike. "Stay out of trouble..." 

* * *

After Gemma said goodbye to Clay, and gave him his arthritis shot, the sons headed out to visit their brothers in SAMTAZ. "Prez," Clay greeted, shaking the president's hand, Armando.

"Welcome to the border, brother," Armando greeted back. 

"Thanks, man. Good to see you, 'mano," Clay smiled. 

"Redwood," the VP, Huff greeted.

"Good to see you, Huff," Clay nodded, shaking his hand.

"Having trouble with the grip?" Huff asked, noticing Clay's grip is looser than before. 

"No, perfect," Clay lied. On the way there, they had to stop so Jax could give Clay an injection.

"How you doing, Army?" Jax asked, shaking hands with SAMTAZ.

"Really sorry about Little Paul. We wish we could have made the funeral," Bobby told the MC.

"Yeah, man, condolences," Clay agreed.

"Thanks. Awful shit," Armando tsked.

"Broke our hearts."

"So, uh, meeting Romeo tomorrow at the expo, 10:00 a.m."

"SAMTAZ, ready to protect and serve."

"You're sure the truck's good here tonight?" Jax asked, looking at the 18 wheeler they barrowed from Unser trucking. 

"Absolutely. No cops, no scumbags. Everyone knows we run it."

"Stop it. I'll pay you, I promise. You said we had a week," came a man's voice near the truck/ 

"That was a week ago, shitwhore. We'll get the money," came a heavy Latino accent. The guys walked over where a girl was fighiing and another guy was trying to fight his way free from SAMTAZ. 

"What's this guy owe on?" Clay asked.

"Benny, handle it," Huff ordered.  ordered. 

"Get off him," Benny told his brothers.

"Jesus Christ," Clay breathed out. 

"Hey, hey, hey," Tig soothed the woman.

"Let go of me. Let go," the woman spat. 

Tig tried to grab a hold of her to calm her down, but was bit in the hand. "Skank," he cursed, shaking his bleeding hand.

"You bastards," Bobby breathed out, seeing the vial on the ground. 

"What is it?" Clay asked. 

"Crank. This what he's behind on?"

"You're dealing here?" Clay asked SAMTAZ. 

"It ain't a risk. We own the spot," Huff explained.

"Ain't a risk? That's a truck filled with automatic weapons, douche bag, a life sentence for everyone involved, and you have us roll up in your goddamn crank den?" Jax questioned, going to beat him. 

"- Hey, hey, hey, hey," Armando called out. 

"- What?!"

"Easy. Coke, crank. You mule, we sell. Same shit."

"Shut it down," Clay ordered. 

"Sorry, ese. Not your club, not your call. Let's go," Armando called out to his club. 

Later, they sat around the SAMTAZ table. "I ain't telling you how to run your charter, but the club has precedents," Clay explained.

"SAMCRO went all in with the cartel. Now, that sends a message to the charters," Huff replied. 

"We don't deal. That's always been the message."

"Come on, Clay, that's bullshit, man. You can't draw that line," Armando sighed. 

"We just voted this shit in. That trucker had back debt. How long you been dealing?" Jax asked.

"Voted it in four months ago. Been up and running about three. This town is drying up, Clay. I'm just trying to keep this charter alive, man."

"We would have never brought you into this if we knew you were cooking," Jax sighed. 

"Look, you don't want to use us, fine. We're the closest charter to the border. Anybody else is a two-day ride."

"You know, we're paying SAMTAZ a good fee for running protection down here," Clay told them.

"Yeah, but SAMCRO's the only charter getting rich off the cartel."

"Sorry, guys, Romeo's waiting. We got to go," Clay told SAMTAZ. 

"Yeah, let's handle this shIt later, boys," Chibs told the other MC. 

Jax got up from his seat, looking at the wall of mugshots. "Why the hell did Reggie turn in his patch? Dude had 18 years," he questioned.

"Little Paul was his sponsor. When he got killed, it broke him up, man," Benny explained.

"He got out before the crank vote?"

"Yeah, almost five months ago."

"Close vote?"

"It was, but now everyone's behind it now." 

"What about you?"

"Four kids, 'mano. Ain't got a choice," Benny shrugged.

"All right, bro, come on," Jax told the patch. 

* * *

"Happy wants me to start desiging again," Addie told Gemma and Kayla. "I love the boutique but those aren't my clothes. Those are the clothes I'm distrubting and fixing up. Those aren't mine. I want to create something unique and incredible...with my own tag on it. I wanna go to fashion week in New York, Milan, and Paris. I want to control the fashion game..." 

"Sounds like you have big ambitions," Gemma smiled. 

"I do...but I love what I do. He even bought me a new leather bound notebook and pencils. But I think Happy's trying to keep me distracted from the drug stuff." 

"Wait...what drug stuff?" Kayla asked, stopping Gemma and Addie. 

"The guys are distrubting coke...Ope didn't tell you? They've been sitting on it for a couple of days, and voted on it last night," Addie told her. 

"No...he never said anything..." Kayla said quietly, then perked up as they got to the flower shop. Chucky went to pull open the door for them, with the three ladies smiling. 

"Be right there," said a woman in the back. Stepping out came a stunning woman who was half black and half Japaneese with amazing bone structure. "Can I help you?"

"You sell Mariposa lily bulbs?" Gemma asked.

"I don't have any in stock, but I can get some," she smiled, grabbing her catalog book.

"Mine just keep dying. Think it might be too much sun."

"What's their exposure?"

"Southern. Greenhouse. Still potted."

"Bring one in. I'll take a look at it. Lilies are tricky. Half of mine never make it from seed."

"All right, I'll do that," Gemma smiled, holding out her hand. "Gemma. These are my friends, Adelaide and Kayla," Gemma introduced. 

"- Rita," Rita Roosevelt smiled, shaking the three ladies hands.

"- Nice to meet you."

"- Likewise," Rita nodded, staring at the weird man with protestic fingers.

"Chucky," Chucky smiled.

"Hello."

"Go wait in the car," Gemma ordered.

"Adieu, ladies," Chucky told them, exiting.

"Sorry about him, He's harmless I swear..." Kayla told Rita. 

"What happened there?: Rita asked.

The three women looked at each other, before Gemma spoke up. "Long story. Picked up those hands on eBay. Difficult rehabilitation." "How's it going with the gardens?" 

"Ah, not so good. We don't raise another $80,000 in the next three weeks, it's gone."

"Let me guess. More retail feed for Charming Heights?" Addie asked, knowing all to well about Mayor Hale's push to run her out of buisness.

"Yeah, most likely."

"I wouldn't let the mayor see that sign. He might fire your husband," Gemma told Rita, glancing at the sign in the corner.

"Just imagine what he'd do if he knew I was the one who started that committee. We're having a big fund-raiser next week." 

"I take it you know who I am. Who...we are," Gemma guessed.

"Yeah. Clearly you know who I am."

"So what's this, uh, gold circle club?" Kayla asked.

"Oh, it's for premium donors, minimum $5,000 donation."

"Hmm, expensive club," Gemma hummed. 

"There's other ways to donate. Gold circle is mostly professionals. Helps us attract the right donors. "

"So, uh, being a biker's old lady would what? Attract the wrong kind of donors?" Addie asked, knowing the prejudice that they got. 

"I honestly don't care who you ladies are. If you really want to help, the door is open. But if you're just here to rattle my cage, I don't have the time, loves." 

Gemma turned towards two of her surrogate daughter, whispering. Nodding to each other, they turned back to the woman. "All right... love. I'll come back with my dead bulbs."

"I'll be here," Rita smiled. 

* * *

SAMCRO finally made it to bike rally, where they guys stood around in their own little clique. "Go check us in. Make it official," Clay ordered Juice.

"Done."

"Romeo does not seem like the kind of guy who runs late," Tig mentioned. 

"Relax. He'll be here," Jax told the SAA next to him. 

"What's going on, man?" Clay asked, noticing that Jax was thinking about something. 

"I've been thinking about this crank move. Armando said they passed the vote four months ago. That's right after Little Paul was killed and Reggie quit."

"So, you think that had something to do with this drug move?" Clay questioned.

"Little Paul would have never signed off on crank."

"And Reggie was a lifer. Him walking away doesn't make any sense," Chibs mentioned.

"No," Jax agreed.

"What are you thinking?" Clay asked. 

"It was a close vote. Two no's easily sway it the other way."

"Yeah, so someone's clearing the opposition, man?" Tig questioned.

"I don't know, but it's worth tracking down Reggie, asking him why he quit," Jax summarized.

Clay nodded, liking the way Jax was thinking. "Let's go find Reggie. We got to shut this crank thing down. Send the message to the other charters we don't deal."

"Cartel's here," Tig said, seeing the fancy car.

"Every business needs shipping and selling. You can't separate the two," Bobby voiced.

"I got a wife that says shit without saying shit. Grow a sack, Elvis," Clay seethed.

"Armando's right. Muling and dealing-- same goddamn thing." 

"Not the time, boys," Tig hissed. 

"Same thing," Bobby repeated.

"Let's get this done," Jax sighed.

"Everything cool?" Armando asked. 

"Where's El Jefe?" Clay asked, straddling his bike. 

"He doesn't like being watched. You got a tail," Luis answered.

"Where?" Clay asked, looking around.

"Auto detailing van. Three o'clock." Jax cursed inside his mind, seeing the van. Revving his engine, he was ready to go.

"Oh, just some local shit, man. It's got nothing to do with our business. We'll handle it."

"- You better. Call when it's clear."

Clay nodded, starting his engine. "This is your goddamn crank. It's got to be a local narc."

"Hey, you're the crew on federal release. Could be the ATF with their noses still up your ass," Huff sneered/

"We got a tail. Sooner we lose it, sooner the Mexicans feel safe," Jax hissed, tired of the tension.

"- Huff?" Armando asked.

"- Yeah?"

"Call Fierro. We'll take 'em down to Vesper Trail."

"- Done."

"- You guys, follow us."

Clay grabbed onto the handle bars and cursed as his hands ached. "You sure your grip can handle this?" Tig asked. 

"Get on your bike," Clay ordered, revving his engine. They started on their way, stopping by a gas station where they created a huge fireball using drums of gasoline. 

* * *

"Bunny, get in the back. It's all right, it's all right. Just go in the back," Reggie, a former SAMTAZ patch told a rabbit as he ushered him into a clean cage. Finding a new job was hard, with little experience. But he loved animals. Hearing a the door ring alerting a new customer, he turned and saw black Reaper kuttes. It was none other than SAMCRO. 

"Never pegged you for an animal lover, Reg," Clay commented.

"What do you want?" Reggie asked, his guard instantly up.

"Just want to say hello, man. Missed you in SAMTAZ."

"I'm out. Good standing. Ink's all black," Reggie explained.

"Why'd you walk away?" Bobby asked.

"None of your business. Now, get out of here."

"Come on, man," Jax sighed. Using a gloved hand, he punched out a fish tank, spilling water and fish. 

"Oh, shit!" Bobby exclaimed. 

"No, no, no, no!" Chibs chanted.

"Weeks after Little Paul was killed, SAMTAZ passed a crank vote. That have anything to do with why you patched out?" Jax questioned.

"Hey, Tig, you in the mood for some stew?" Clay asked.

Tig reached into the rabbit cage, grabbing one then pulled out his KA-BAR. "Yeah, yeah. Mmm, hasenpfeffer, man."

"All right," Reggie told them, not wanting the sick SAA to kill the bunny.

"Why'd you quit?" Jax repeated his previous question.

Reggie sighed. "Huff found out I was banging Little Paul's old lady."

"Ellen? Jesus, man," Bobby sighed.

"So what happened?" Clay asked. 

"Huff kept it quiet, said he didn't want to ruin Paul's marriage," Reggie explained. 

"Saving it for leverage."

"Little Paul and I got word there was a cookhouse out on Copperhead. Shook down the skinheads who were running it, found out Huff and Benny had set it up. Used the club's weight to get it done and nobody at the table had any idea that it was happening. Then we get a call from Huff and Benny saying Little Paul had been gunned down by Mexican bangers. No other witnesses."

"And when you threatened to out him, Huff played the leverage," Jax guessed.

"Yeah. Huff said he was gonna tell the gang that I was banging Ellen. I'd be drummed out, Ellen'd get shunned-- no compensation, nobody to look out after her. I didn't want it to ruin her life, too. I walked away."

"Yeah, well, once you and Little Paul were gone, Huff voted it in legit," Bobby told him.

"Look, I don't want this getting back to the club."

"I can't make that promise. I can promise you we'll take care of Ellen," Clay told Reggie. 

"Yo, Luis called. Romeo wants to meet," Juice told Clay, whose phone had rang.

"Uh, get a 20 on those skinheads, will you?" 

"Yeah," Tig nodded. 

* * *

"Hey..." Tara smiled, seeing Piney walk into her office. 

"Hey, Doc. You free for a minute?" 

"Sure. How can I help you?" 

"Do you know about John's death?" 

Tara sucked in a breath. "No...why?" 

"He was my best friend. The club was going down a dark path, and it's going down that same path now." 

"I know...Jax has a plan," Tara told him. 

"You know about the drugs..." Piney whispered, horrified. 

"What would happen if Jax tried to take the gavel now? No one would vote him in. Who would be president?! Tig? Bobby?" Tara sighed, running a hand down her face. "Listen...Jax has a plan to change things...for everybody. He wants to make the club legit..."

"By doing drugs?" Piney asked. 

"Clay would resist everything that Jax tries to do...and everybody else would back him up. To them, Jax is still just that young, hard headed boy. I don't like it anymore than you do, but I will do whatever I have to do to protect my husband and my sons," Tara hissed, with a newfound fire in her eyes. 

Her door opened, revealing Gemma. "Oh, sorry."

Groaning, Tara plastered on a smile. "You know, most civil people would knock before entering."

"I'm not most people," Gemma smirked. 

"And she's definitely not civil," Chuckie grinned. 

"What are we, George and Gracie now? Sorry to interrupt."

"That's okay, we're done," Piney smiled, grabbing his oxygen machine to leave.

"No, no, no, no. We should finish. I'll be right back," Tara told Piney, leading Gemma out. "What do you need?" 

"I wanna sign you up for a committee-- Charming Central Gardens. Need to raise money to save it."

"I can't. I'm already on three committees here." All of which Gemma signed her, Kayla, and Addie up for. 

"I just need your name. It means a lot to get a doctor involved. Attracts donors."

"Gemma, I can't." 

"It's a chance to help this town."

"What's your angle on this? Why do you give a shit about an overgrown park?"

"Nate taught me how to plant seed in that overgrown park. I am not gonna let 'em gut it and put up a goddamn Starbucks." 

Tara nodded, understanding why it would mean so much for Gemma. "Okay...just this one more..." Tara warned.

"Tara, it's Piney. S... Something wrong!" Chuckie yelled out. Gemma and Tara raced back into the room to see Piney on the ground, breathing labored. 

"Piney! I need a gurney!" Tara yelled, kicking up the O2 on Piney's oxygen. 

* * *

After the Sons met with Romeo to grab the drugs, it was time to start getting SAMTAZ back on track. "What the hell is this all about, Clay? We should be gearing up for tonight," Armando asked.

"Meet Achey. Skinhead meth cooker. About five months ago, Little Paul and Reggie found out Achey here was cooking for Huff and Benny," Clay informed them as Tig brought in the meth cooker. 

"What?" Huff laughed.

"They told his crew it was a SAMTAZ drug operation. Ain't that right, Achey?"

"This is bullshit! We-We took a vote," Huff protested.

"Yeah, after you killed Little Paul and blackmailed Reggie out of the club," Jax hinted.

"Come on, man," Huff begged his president. 

"You know what you're doing here?" Armando asked.

"'m accusing the VP and the Sergeant of using the MC to their own ends. And then when they got caught, they killed a member... and blackmailed another," Clay informed him.

"This is crazy, man. This guy's a goddamn tweaker," Benny huffed.

"Yeah, but this guy's not. Reg has the whole story," Chibs said, opening the door to let Reggie in.

"It's your charter, man. Listen to the facts. You make your decision. But if you find out that your club got into crank on a lie, you need to vote it again," Clay told Armando.

"I'm not listening to this shit."

"Sit down, Huff," Armando told the pissed off VP. 

"You gonna listen to his bullshit?" 

"I said sit down."

"You little bitch...!" Huff yelled, but Clay reared his fist back, blackening his eye. 

"You having trouble with the grip?" Clay smirked as Huff groaned. 

"Handle your business. We'll be at the truck stop," Jax told them. 

* * *

"Hey...thanks for calling me," Kayla told Tara, hugging her. "What happened?" 

"He came in here to talk to me, Gemma came to talk, we walked out to talk, and he just collapsed." 

"What's wrong?" Kayla asked. 

"His COPD, emphysema, and his drinking. His body is starting to shut down...if he keeps going at this pace, who knows how long this would be." 

"Dammit," Kayla cursed, running a hand down her short black pony tail. 

"I'm going to talk to him. Let you meet with the doctor," Tara smiled, kissing her cheek. Stepping in, she saw the grumpy looking biker laying in bed.

"Can I get out of here now?" he asked.

"Dr. Geller wants to keep you in for 24 hours. Also, your daughter in law is here," Tara smiled, hearing Piney groan in annoyance. "Just observation."

"It's my oxygen levels. It happens once in a while."

"The alcohol isn't helping."

"Yeah, I know. I'm-I'm sorry I was so hard on you before."

"Mm, it's okay. Tell me about John Teller. What was he like?"

"He was a complicated guy. Angry, impulsive... " Piney listed off, chuckling. "Just righteous as hell. Hated being wrong. Not much of an education. Book smart, though. He used to, um... devour three and four of 'em at a time. He was loyal. Too loyal."

"That sounds familiar," Tara smirked, knowing that it sounded alot like Jax.

"Yeah, they're cut from the same cloth. You know what I want to know? Why my best friend didn't come to me."

Tara sighed and grabbed his papery hand gently. "Gemma told me that after Thomas died he was lost. His heart was broken. He spent his time before he died in Belfast. He was trying to get the club out of the gun business. He knew it was a risk. Clay and the others were invested."

"Trying to get them out how?"

"From what she told me, he had set up a meeting in Belfast with some IRA members and a priest."

"Kellan Ashby."

"Yes. John wanted to end the relationship with the Irish, stop the club from selling guns. He died before that meeting happened." Wiping away a fallen tear from her eye, Tara took a deep breathe. "John caught Gemma and Clay in bed. Confronted them. Then he wrote Gemma a letter, drank and smoked, and got on his bike for one last ride." Piney's resolve broke at the news on how JT really died...his best friend was so lost in his grief and saw no way out that he met the Reaper the only way he could...riding down the road on his ride. "I'm so so sorry, Piney," Tara told him. 

Hearing a faint knock on the door, Gemma poked her head in. "Hey, how we doing?" Gemma asked, seeing Piney's red eyes and a tear stain on Tara's cheek.

"Okay. We're gonna run some more tests. Make sure he's stable," Tara explained, getting up.

"Just give him some tequila, that'll do it," Gemma smirked, coming in. 

"I'll check in on you later," Tara smiled, kissing Piney's thin cheek then Gemma's. 

Gemma sat down next to his bed. "What you doing, old man?"

"How come you never told me what really went down with JT?" Piney asked.

"Piney...I didn't want John to appear weak." 

"What...that he hated his life? He stepped out on you...spent time in Ireland with another woman? Got so strung out on weed and booze and met the reaper with open arms? Jesus Christ, Gem! How could you not stop him?" 

"WHAT COULD I HAVE DONE?! MY SON JUST DIED!" Gemma screamed. Gemma rarely lost her cool, and when she did, everybody better back away. Gemma took a breath, composing herself. "Leave it be, Piney...things are already tense between the club. Between Clay and Bobby...and you and Clay...whatever you're trying to stir up, it's only can make things worse." 

"It can't get any worse," Piney told her.

"Back off it, Piney. Leave it alone... before it kills you."

"That's half the reason I'm doing it." Unbeknownst to Piney, the Sons just got their first shipment of drugs...

* * *

Charlie walked into the jailhouse, with folders in hand. Chibs had called her to tell her that some shit had gone down with their rally and that he would be home a little later. Feeling a bit of a disappoited and a little grateful, Charlie had time to think of a reason of why she had bruises n her arms. After being patted down, and releieved of any contraband items, she was escorted to a solitary white room. Opening it, she saw Otto, looking pissed off. His long hair was tied in a low pony tail. He had a Stockton beanie on his head, and his massive arms were decorated with tattoos. Putting down her satchel and pulling out folders and a pen, she smiled at Otto. 

"Hey...you wanted to meet with me? Your C.O. has mentioned that you've made a big turn around. Your taking up yoga for your anger, your helping in the community gardens, you stopping fights from other inmates. Your next parole hearing is in two years. Keep this up, and I should be able to get you out sooner based on good behavior..." 

"That's not why I called you here for Charlie..." Otto seethed, handing her a picture. "The new sheriff from Charming came to visit. Gave me these..."

Charlie took them, seeing Otto's one good eye hardened with sorrow and anger. Looking down, she saw the photograh was of a woman severly beaten and on the side of a ditch. Her body was twisted in an unnatural way. "What is this?" 

"That's my Old Lady, Luann. Or what was her...she was beaten to death and tossed off like a piece of fucking garbage...she and the boys got into buisness together...Cara Cara. But the real thinker is that Bobby Munson's semen was all over her body." Charlie sucked in a breath...Charlie didn't scare easily, but the look in Otto's eye sent her chills right down to her core. 

"Otto...you can't obviously think..." 

"I don't know what to think. One thing about this world sweetheart is the last guy tapping a bitch-- usually the one who killed her."

"What do you want me to do?" 

"I want you to ask Clay and the club a question. What would it feel like... to lose the one he loved the most? You tell the club, you tell the guy who was bedding my wife, they need to find the scumbag who killed her. Or I guarantee you that once I get out, I''m going straight back in here for murder and I won't ever get out." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Accusations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie and Chibs find a new understanding about each other, Kayla and Opie have their first fight as a married couple, Tara tries to keep Jax out of the loop about JT's death and Clay and Gemma's affair, and Addie struggles with making her dreams come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for long wait. Been working on my Supernatural fan-fic and working alot on my job. I decided to make JT commit suicide, because as of late, there has been alot of that lately in the world, with Kate Spade, Anthony Bordain, and that SoA actor. Suicide is a very sad thing. If ever any of you feel like acts about hurting yourself, please go talk to somebody or get some help. There is always someone to talk to.

Juice and Jax met in a diner outside of the club wearing normal clothes. Each had a mug of black coffee, and bent down towards each other. "Roosevelt's gonna want to meet man. I don't know why he's targeting me, but he is..." Juice explained. 

"He has beef with the club..." 

"If the guys find out about my dad...I'm screwed. Jax...I don't want to die..." 

"I know. I'm trying to do what's right for the club! This bullshit needs to end...prejudice against races, selling guns, drugs? It's going to get us all killed or imprisoned. I want to show my son what a real MC club looks like. I want to see him grow up and have kids of his own one day. Then maybe, when I'm ready to step down, he'll step up. I just need your help. You're not alone...Opie is backing me up 100%. We want to change the club the way our dad's intended for it to happen. Bobby, Happy, Piney, Chibs, and the Old Ladies...we're all in this together. When I step up, I'm going to change the rules. For one thing, no more race against the table. Hell, maybe one day we'll find a couple of badass biker chicks to join the table. Or they can have their own?! But things are changing, Juicy. I just need you to throw the good sheriff off of our asses." 

The club stood around, waiting for their new friends the Mayans to come over. "Jax," Marcus grinned, shaking Jax's hand.

"How you doing?" Jax asked, trying to hide his yawn. He got up early to meet with Juice, and now he just wanted to get home to see his fiance and his boys. Every time he thought fiance, a big smile would grace his face. 

"Heard it was a good trip."

"Good as it gets, bro," Clay nodded.

"Cut-n-bag won't be up and running till tomorrow."

"All right. Guess we'll babysit till then," Clay sighed, looking at the prospects and Miles. 

"I'll set up the pick-up."

"Hey, amigo. You forgetting something?" Jax asked, looking at the guys. 

"They're just here to help."

"Thanks. We can handle it."

"Once that shipment hits north Cali, keeping it safe lands on me."

"One guy," Clay agreed.

"Rafi, stick around, huh? Let's go."

"Miles, lock those crates in the gun room. No one gets in," Jax ordered. 

"Right," Miles agreed. 

"Phil and Rat Boy on the front and back," Jax ordered. 

"Okay."

"All right, everybody grab some sleep. Be at the club house by noon," Clay called out, heading home to his wife. 

* * *

Juice walked over to where he was meeting with Sheriff Roosevelt, the special burner phone that Jax gave him tucked in his kutte pocket. Jax seemed sincere that he would protect him from harm. He wanted to change things...he wouldn't have to hide who he was anymore. Squaring his shoulders, he headed over to the chain link fence. 

"Welcome home. How was the bike show?" Roosevelt asked. 

"Our P.O. signed off on the run," Juice explained, glaring at the man.

"I'm going to set up random piss tests. Let's us get together and chat private."

"Blow me."

"You know, save the bad ass. Your M.C. ain't gonna give a shit about you being loyal or hard. 'Cause all they're gonna see is black. Now this is a simple trade, Juice. You give me some truth and I'll protect yours."

"Truth about what?"

"My sources inside Oaktown's gang unit say a major player surfaced in northern Cali-- Galindo Cartel. If I find out that you guys are bringing weight into Sanwa, I will cripple you."

"Where the hell you going with this?"

"I'm not going after your club. I'm going after the drugs."

"You're a sheriff, man. You ain't got the reach for any of this shit."

"I got important friends."

"How important?"

"I will let you know." 

As Roosevelt left, Juice began to pinch his arms to calm down is racing heart. His OCD and anxiety was beginning to flare up. Just wait until he tells Jax...

* * *

Tara was making breakfast for Abel and herself, while she baby talked Thomas as he sat in his highchair. Hearing a motorcycle roar up, she grinned. Hearing the front door open, she listened as Jax's heavy footsteps followed to the kitchen, and feeling strong arms wrap around her waist. She chuckled as his goatee tickled her as he kissed her neck. 

"Hey," he smiled as she turned around.

"Oh, hello."

"Hey," Jax repeated, kissing her passionately. "What's happening?"

Jax moved over to kiss Abel's blonde head, who smiled up at him. "Say hi," Tara grinned. 

"Missed you guys. I missed you too, Mama," Jax growled, hands going to her ass and squeezing. Thomas screeched from his highchair as he demanded for his food source. "Yes, and you," Jax laughed, picking Thomas up from the high chair.

"How was your trip?" Tara asked, setting a place for Jax at the table.

"Good. Brought you a souvenir." Jax told her, reaching into his kutte pocket, producing a big wad of cash. 

"Wow. Is this from..." Tara questioned.

"Yeah," Jax nodded, kissing Thomas's soft baby hair. "Juice is going to our look out on the good sheriff. He's sniffing into our buisness." 

"Piney knows about our plan," Tara told him. "He's in the hospital. His COPD is getting worse."

"Alright. I'll go talk to him later on today. Got to put it in the safety deposit box in your name. There's going to be a lot more."

"All in cash?" Tara asked, slipping it into her purse. 

"No strings, no tax. This is real, babe. Just like I promised you. Talk to my mom, she knows the drill. I was thinking we put it in a college fund for the boys." 

"Okay." 

"Okay."

"Okay," Tara smiled, watching Jax sit down slowly with Thomas on his lap. "You okay?" 

"Just tired. Going to eat my breakfast, shower, then going to get some sleep." 

* * *

"Baby?" Opie called out, opening the door. 

"Dad!" Ellie called out, throwing herself into his massive arms. 

"Hey. Where's Kayla?" 

"In the bedroom getting ready," Kenny answered, shoving a waffle down his throat. 

He nodded, and headed up to see Kayla tying on her work boots. "Hey," Opie grinned, trying to kiss her cheek. Kayla dodged his lips, walking back to the bathroom to dry her hair. Opie followed her, confused by her silent treatment. "Hey...what's wrong?" 

"Why are you keeping things from me?" Kayla asked, turning around to face him. 

"I'm not keeping things from you..." 

"Bullshit. Addie slipped about the drugs. Drugs, Ope? Really?" Kayla scoffed, grabbing a hair tie. 

"I was going to tell you," Opie sighed, following her out of the bathroom. 

"Really? When? When you got arrested and did hard time for possession? Or when you got shot and die?" 

"That's not going to happen!" Opie explained.

"Who the hell brought it up anyway?" 

"Clay...we voted." 

"And you voted yes." 

"So did Jax...and Miles. I only backed Jax up because he wanted to do it...but I told him that we need to set the club straight when Clay leaves..." 

"Bullshit. You fucking lied to me..." 

"I didn't fucking lie to you!" 

"No...you shut me out, which is just as worse. I'm not Donna...I don't like being out of the loop. I'm not Tara, being able to push everything behind me. This isn't what I signed up for."

"I not trying to push you out! I already lost one wife due to the Club, and I'm not loosing another! I'm doing this to protect you!" 

"You're doing this to keep me under lock and key. Well, news flash Harry Winston...I can take care of myself. I can shoot a gun and gut a man like a fish. I would rather have you tell me the truth and deal the with the consquences. I'm not going to leave you because of all of this shit, but I will because you keep things or lie to me. I'm going to TM. See at home for fucking dinner."  

* * *

 Charlie stood in her room staring at her closet. It has been two days since Otto dropped the bombshell on her, and the burden was weighing her down. She was about to walk into the lions den and give them an ultimatum. But it was weighing on her conscious. She was about to trade Otto's life for another...but she had taken to Otto. He became like a surrogate father to her when her own is absent from her life. She was also about to face the man she was falling head over heels for. Sighing, she walked over to her closet to pick out an outfit that meant business. She grabbed the highest pair of black heels she could find, her black lacy professional mini skirt, a white blouse, and a red blazer. She took time to curl her hair, pining the two sides near her face in the back of her head with bobby pins.

Once she got there, she stopped and took a deep breath. She was going in...one way or another. She had a duty to her client to do whatever she could to get him out. Squaring her shoulders, she put on her resting bitch face and moved her heeled feet. She was a strong, independent woman. Stepping inside the clubhouse, she bounced her foot as she waited for somebody to show up. Her heart began to break a bit when the first one that she saw was her boyfriend. "Fillip," she called out, walking over. 

"Charlie..." Chibs smiled, kissing her. 

Charlie smiled a bit, then backed away. "Where are the guys?" 

"They're coming a bit later," Chibs explained, then saw a look of worry in her green eyes. "What's wrong?" 

"I met with Otto. Serious shit is going down with him and the club." 

"Like what?" 

"Did you know that somebody in the club was sleeping with his wife?" 

"Shit...no? Does Otto?" 

"Yes. He wants to know what really happened to his wife...he wants shit handled. Because, if you guys don't handle it, he won't ever come out. And if he does, he's not going to be in a club that betrayed him. Then, he'll go right back in." Charlie reached into her bag, pulling out the brown envelope with the DNA results and photos of the crime scene. "Sheriff Roosevelt dropped this bu Otto's cell. It's pictures from the crime scene. Also, DNA...semen. He wants you guys to handle it..." 

"Charlie..." 

"Just handle it, Fillip," Charlie sighed. 

"Whoa..." Chibs scoffed, grabbing her wrist. Then see the bruises on her arm. "What the hell?!"

"I told you, it's nothing." 

"This is not nothin'! Is your prick of a boss harrassing you?" 

"No! Just leave it alone!" Charlie seethed. "And fucking fix this mess with Otto before he ends up killing himself." Charlie turned on her heeled feet and left. Chibs pushed down his annoyance and anger, and pulled out his phone. 

"Jackie boy...we have a wee problem." 

* * *

 "Otto reached out," Jax explained to the MC. "Our sheriff has a new lead on Luann's murder. He told Charlie."

"Told him they found cum in her panties. DNA came back a match," said Clay. After Chibs called Jax, Jax called Clay. This was going to be messy. 

"They didn't give a name, but has to be someone who's been through the system."

"Georgie Caruso," Juice told them. 

"That's always been my guess," Jax nodded. 

"Should have handled this Luann shit when it first happened. Old ladies-- they got a way of coming back and biting you in the ass," Clay sighed. 

"If Roosevelt does have proof, he's going to go after Caruso. We got to get to him first."

"Might want it to happen before Otto gets out of the infirmary and loses visitation. I want a brother to look him in the eye and tell him it's been handled. He deserves that." 

"Does anybody still have contact with some of the Cara Cara girls?" Juice asked.

Jax sighed, and ran a hand down his face. "I still have Ima's number." 

"You still have porn slut's number?" Opie asked. 

"Yeah. She's still working with Dondo. We can go see if she's on a shoot today."

"Beautiful thing-- girls in love," Chibs smirked. 

"Before we all sail off to the isle of Lesbos... For a job well done," Clay grinned, passing out envelopes of extra cash. "This is for Cappy and Miles. Keep this in the safe till they get back. Okay, fellas, that's it. If you don't want that, I'm sure I can find somebody that would be." 

Happy took his and slipped it into his pocket. Even though he wasn't thrilled about the drugs, extra cash didn't hurt. Opie grabbed the cash, slipping it into his kutte. Maybe if he brought it home to Kayla, he could prove that they could provide enough for another child. 

"Close the door when you leave," Piney called out. Once the door was closed, he turned to Clay. "JT would have never touched drugs."

"JT was a good businessman. He would have seen the value in this," Clay explained.

"John knew that anything that brought too much heat was bad for the club. That's why he changed his mind about the guns. Remember?"

"Yeah, he talked about, uh, getting us out."

"No, he did more than talk. He reached out to Kellan. Set a meet with the IRA. Made a decision to get us out of the gun-running business. A decision that you couldn't let him live with."

"Your near-death experience gets you talking to ghosts, old man?"

"Nah, not exactly. I talked to Gemma. She told me about John's suicide. About how you were screwing his wife. How crushed he was...he had no hope..." 

"JT was one of my best friends...I should've tried to help him...He gunned it on 580, was crushed by a semi. He did it himself."

"He was drove to suicide by you and Gemma. None of you would help him...sat him down, tried to help. You're all about brotherhood, but inside, you're just selfish."

"Just what do you get out of this?" Clay asked, glaring at the old biker. 

"It's not about me. You kill the drug mulling, or I'll let the rest of club know how JT really died." 

"You ain't got no proof..."

Piney laughed. "Okay. Doesn't matter to me. Either way, I get what I want."

"It's a goddamn cartel. I just can't walk away from the deal."

"Sure, you can. You got till the end of month to figure it out." As Piney left, Clay sat in his heat, and placed a hand over his heart. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest it felt like it was about to burst. Taking a deep breath, he found it hard to do. Closing his eyes, he willed his heart to stop. Finally it stopped pounding, and he could breathe easily again. 

* * *

"You told Clay I was banging Luann?" Bobby accused.

"No, man. The sheriff did give Otto a name-- yours. We're protecting you," Jax explained. 

"Shit. Otto knows. And so does Chib's girlfriend."

"Yeah. Look, obviously, we know you didn't kill Luann."

"Sheriff's got my DNA. Why haven't they questioned me?"

"I don't know. Just fishing, I guess. Roosevelt knows that your DNA doesn't prove you killed Luann, so, just stirring shit up. Seeing if Otto reacts, and maybe gives you up on something else."

"Otto would never turn on the club," Bobby scoffed.

"If anything could do it, it would be Luann. We got to end this. Today," Jax told them.

"Get a 20 on Georgie. I got to head up to Unser's," Clay told Jax, wiping sweat from his head. 

"What's going on?" Jax asked, seeing the color gone from Clay a bit. 

"Nothing. I just got to lock down a truck for the next shipment." 

"You got to do it now?"

"Yeah, I do."  

Clay opened the door, and walked out. Heading to his office, he staggered in and collasped in his chair. Grabbing a bottle of water, he chugged it. Taking a deep breath, he sighed when he saw his loyal wife come in. "What?" Gemma asked. 

"Piney says he knows about JT. Threatened to tell the club everything...about how we were stepping out on him..."

"Are you serious? He's just had a mortal jolt," Gemma sighed.

"He knew shit only me and JT knew. Said he talked to you...if words gets out...it'll be worse than Otto and Bobby...worse than what happened with SAMTAZ. We'll be disgraced...pushed out," Clay gasped, pulling on the collar of his shirt. 

"Clay, you need to calm down. We don't know that." 

"I'm sure John wrote about how Piney was the only one he trusted," Clay laughed, gasping. Clay was used to being in control, and the feeling that he was loosing was causing the beginnings of a panic attack. "Old man's protecting himself. He says he's got contingencies. can't..." 

Gemma saw true fear in Clay's eyes as he gasped. "Clay...you need to breathe. Clay!" 

"My hands..." Clay moaned, his hands tingling. 

"Hey, hey...look at me. Take a deep breathe in..." Gemma took a big breathe in to show Clay. Clay mimiced her. "And let it out..." Gemma blew on his face so he could follow her. Together, they calmed down, and Clay slumped in his chair, spent. 

"I don't know what to do...Tara knows the truth, as does Piney..." 

"What you're thinking..." Gemma asked. 

"The history that Tara and Piney know... very dangerous."

Gemma gasped. "You're talking about the co-founder of this club and the mother of our grandchild."

"John Teller died while I was bedding his wife. It doesn't matter what the reason was, or if I killed him or he killed himself. Jax finds that out, he either banishes me from the club or cuts off my goddamn head, he sticks it on the reaper pole. You'll lose your status and the respect. Now we got to stop this in its tracks, you and me. Otherwise, we lose everything."

"You told me to not going setting fires. That's what you're doing. You hurt either Piney or Tara, Jax would never forgive you. Tara knows not to tell Jax, and Piney just wants out of the drugs. We'll be okay. Let me handle this, and you worry about the club. Too much stress isn't good for you." 

"Alright," Clay sighed. 

Gemma kissed Clay on the lips, grabbing her purse. Digging through it, she pulled out an amber bottle of pills. "Here...take one of these. It's for anxiety. I don't need you having a heart attack on me." 

* * *

 Getting ahold of Ima was easier than Jax expected. She was still hung up on him, and was more than gladly to help him in attempt to gain favor with him. "Georgie's out of the film biz. Doing some kind of high-end sex toy thing," Ima told the Sons. 

"Sex toys, huh?" Jax asked. 

"Yeah. He talked to Dondo about the new girl Lyla and I doing something with the Saffron Sisters, but I passed. Dondo's the new producer/director. I'm under contract." 

"Let's go talk to Dondo." 

"Yeah, he's waiting for me on set."

They walked over to Dondo, where Ima went to get ready for her set. "Georgie contacted me a few weeks ago. Said he wanted to use my best seller-- Saffron Sorority Girls. Said he wanted to make a new run at his dolls."

"Wait, wait, dolls?" Tig asked, freezing up. 

"Yeah."

"What...?"

"Life-sized sex dolls. Look and feel just like the real thing. It's a huge market."

"Well, I'm going to need you to call him back, Dondo. Tell him Sorority Girl number one had a change of heart," Jax ordered.

"And why would I do that?" Dondo questioned.

"For Luann," Ima answered. 

"You're telling me that Georgie had something to do with Luann's murder?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," Jax nodded.

"We need you to get him here. Let us have a private chat."

"Yeah, well, I know what that means; that means you're gonna whack him."

"We don't whack people, Dondo," Jax chuckled, trying to reassure him.

"Well, that's too bad, 'cause I'm not going to hook you up unless you crush that hyper douchbag's skull. I loved Luann. She mentored me. She taught me that I was more than just a big cock. I want Georgie dead," Dondo told them, eyes filled with hate.

"Set it up," Bobby told him. 

* * *

"And then he just stood there, and said that he was just trying to protect me!" Kayla complained as Addie took out a bit of the dress she designed for her portfolio. "I mean, what the fuck is with that?!" 

"Jax did the same thing to me. Don't let him off easy. He's still trying to regain most of my respect. So far, he's been cooking, cleaning, and waking up for the late night feeds and diaper changes," Tara grinned, taking a bite of her salad. It was now a customary thing that they ate and gossiped together. 

"Happy never lies to me. He knows that I like the truth, and he will tell me everything I need to know. The only thing he keeps from me if it's to protect me." 

"Well, I told him that I wasn't you or Donna. That I don't like secrets or being lied to. This is cute, Addie," Kayla smiled, looking at dress in the mirror. 

It was red and lacy, with a high low hemline. It had long sleeves that went down to her elbows and hugged her figure. "Thank you," Addie smiled. "To be a designer or work with other designers, I need a portfolio. Might as well start now. I'm going to hire a manager to run the shop. Get another building to serve as a workshop and a warehouse." Hearing the door chime, they turned to see a new person coming in. 

Charlie stood there, still in her shorts, blouse, heels, and blazer as she stood there. Hoisting her purse up higher on her shoulder, she stood there awardly as the Old Ladies of SAMCRO. After admitting to Chibs what Otto told her and the guys finished church, Chibs dragged her outside.

_"What the hell did Otto exactly tell you?" Chibs growled._

_"That the Sheriff came to him and someone inside the club was sleeping with his wife. Let me go!"_

_"You realize what can o' worms you just opened up?! This is going to blow back on the club!"_

_"I don't know fucking anything about the club. All I know is that I'm to get my client out of Stockton!"_

_"Maybe if you were open to me, I would tell you things!"_

_"What the hell does that mean?"_

_"It means that you hide things from me, when I'm trying to fucking help ya!"_

_"I don't fucking need your help!" Charlie shouted, tears in her eyes._

_Chibs recognzied the hidden terror in her eyes...the look of somebody trying to guard their heart. "What has happened in your fuckin' life tha' you're runnin' from me? I 'ave been honest wi' ya'! Who the fuck has broken ya?"_

_"You don't know a god damn thing about me! I don't fucking need a knight in shining armor. And I don't fucking need you."_

And now here she stood, unsure of what she should do. She spent the rest of the morning, day drinking as she drowned away her sorrows. The truth was, she was keeping him in the dark. The world has not been kind to her at all, and she spent every waking moment to make sure that her life was perfect and pain free. Then she met Fillip. He was slowly chipping away at the ice around her heart, and she couldn't allow that. She knew martial arts, she knew how to shoot a gun, she knew how to push people away. The weird and strange man with prosthetic fingers told her that the other Old Ladies often ate lunch together to bitch and moan about their problems with their Old Men. Today, they were meeting a small boutique. 

And here she was, feeling like she was an outcast that she new she was. "Hey...sorry to interupt. Fingers told me that you guys often meet..." 

"Yeah..." Kayla nodded, stepping down from the platform. 

"It's just that I don't really have a lot of girl friends to talk to about Fillip and I. All of my friends are high class snobs and bitches..." 

"Well, we're not high class, snobs, or bitches. Expect for maybe Tara," Addie smirked. 

"Bitches," Tara smirked. "You're Charlie right?" 

"Yeah..." 

"Well, are you pissed at your Old Man?" 

"We had a pretty ugly fight..." Charlie sighed. 

"You hungry? Kayla made us a salad," Addie smiled, grabbing a paper bowl and filling it to Charlie. 

"Sure," Charlie smiled a bit, sitting down and taking the bowl from the brunette's arms. Addie was a very beautiful woman, with a baby face and high cheekbones. 

"So, he lie to you?" 

"No...I told him something about Otto, Luann, and someone from the club having a love triangle and he got pissed. Then I got pissed because I keep pushing him away. He got pissed again because I don't tell him things about my life." 

"Otto and Luann are my godparents. Or at least Otto is now. What's up with them?" Kayla asked, going to strip out of her desk. 

"Otto said that Luann was covered in Bobby's DNA. He feels betrayed and blames the club for her death. He wants answers." 

"Damn! No wonder Bobby was shocked when Unser ruined the family dinner from Hell," Tara gasped. 

"Talk about a damn soap opera," Addie commented, sitting down on a sofa. 

"What about you and Chibs?" Kayla asked, coming out of the dressing room. 

"My life hasn't been rainbows and unicorns. Years of heart ache made me form ice around my heart. I've...worked my ass off to get where I am. Got stellar grades, worked four jobs to get into Harvard, got my first job as a lawyer at a fancy law firm. Used my first paycheck to pay off student loans, then my second to buy everything that I didn't have growing up." 

"You know that Chibs had a crappy life as well. Maybe you two should sit down and talk. One thing about those men is that they will do anything in their power to protect theirs. Killing people, hiding secrets, and pushing us away is how they are able to protect us. But they love us...they can't live without us," Tara told Charlie. 

"She's right. Despite all of their bullshit, we still love them," Kayla sighed. 

"I don't know how to let people in..." Charlie began to say. 

"Neither did I. I've been in the foster system, been assaulted before by my foster family, been let down time after time, even did a stint in juvie. I didn't plan on meeting and falling for Opie. We were both damaged goods with tons of baggage, and we found a spot in our hearts for each other. And despite me being pissed off at him, I know that I'm better off with him then without him. He is my air that I breathe and what makes me smile every morning. If you truly are falling for Chibs, you need to open yourself up to him. You'll be surprised on what you'll find out from him. He likes you, though." 

* * *

After tracking down Georgie, the guys cornered him. "Georgie. We missed you," Clay smiled. 

"He ain't giving it up on Luann," Jax informed his president.

"Jesus Christ, Clay, can you talk some sense into these psychos?" Georgie begged, being a bit black and blue. 

"Hey, these are my rational guys. I get Happy down here, ball gag takes on a whole new meaning," Clay snickered.

"I didn't kill Luann," Georgie told them.

"Yes, you did."

"Let's do it." Tig came forward, with his own bag of tricks, ready to start causing him serious pain. 

"Whoa, whoa, please. Wait, I got money! I got millions! Oh! I got millions, Clay! Anything you want! Anything!" Georgie begged.

"Wow, these sex dolls must be selling like sex dolls." Clay smirked.

"Dream Dolls. I got Asian backing. Billionaire sex freaks. I'm serious," Georgie quivered.

"I got this," Bobby told Clay and Tig. He needed to do this for Luann, for his brother.

"No," Georgie quavered, knowing his end was about to be here. 

"Hold it," Clay called out, holding up a hand. "These Asians, they looking for any other investments?"

"All the time," Georgie nodded.

"He telling the truth?"

"Yeah. Natsuki family. Huge Japanese money," Dondo answered, crossing his arms. 

"What the hell we doing here?" Bobby asked, wanting revenge and justice for poor Luann.

"I think maybe we can use Georgie," Clay answered.

"You talking about the Asians?" Jax questioned.

"Yeah. Gemma found out there's a ticking clock on Charming Heights. Hale's still looking for investors. If Georgie can front load his guys, make Hale think they're his salvation..."

"Then we pull 'em out at the last minute," Jax finished. One thing about Clay is that he was calculating.

"Yeah, all we got to do is convince City Council to stomp on Hale's dream."

"What the hell do we tell Otto?" Bobby asked.

"What the hell do you tell Otto?" Clay corrected. 

"Tell him the truth. The club needs Georgie alive for a minute. That's a post-dated check. As soon as we shut down Hale, we cut Georgie's heart out," Jax told Bobby.

"What's going on, guys?" Dondo asked, confused. 

"All right. All right."

"Hold on to that big dick of yours, Dondo. We'll keep you posted," Jax told the porn star. 

* * *

Tara came home from work and lunch, ready to cuddle with her boys and her fiance whenever he got home. Gemma smiled as she saw Tara walk in, handing Tara a whiny Thomas. "Hey...how were they today?" 

"They were okay. Thomas has been whiny all day today. I think he's starting to teeth. I gave him some baby motrin for the pain." 

Tara cooed at the fussy baby, bringing him up to her neck, and rubbing his back. Thomas instantly took scent of his mother, and grabbed onto her long hair and stuffing his face near her chest, whining. Tara stuck a finger in his mouth, feeling his gums were a bit swollen and a bit tender. "It's okay..." Tara whispered, as Thomas's tiny hands pawed at her chest for comfort. "Like father like son...between Jax, Thomas, and Abel, all three of the boys like my chest more than my mind." 

"That's because they're all boob men. They like their tits, and yours especially. I need John's manuscript," Gemma told her. 

"Why?" 

"Because Clay knows that you know. He's starting to panic. Do you know what happens to an Old Lady that cheats on her Old Man with another patch?" 

"No, what?" 

"They get shunned. They lose their respect from their friends. The guys are much worse. They can loose their patch, being shunned from the club, forced out. Clay is used to being in control...and he's loosing it. His hands are going, he can barely hold onto a pen, and if the truth comes out, he'll lose everything. He had a panic attack today. I've never seen him so terrified. Please...you got to help me..." 

"Don't you get tired of secrets?" 

"Yes. But finding out that your step father and mother drove your father to suicide...that will hurt Jax more than ever. You know how he feels about this family..." 

Tara thought things through, like she always did. Jax would be crushed that the two people that he looked up to before in his life had betrayed him. As his Old Lady, it would be up to her to protect him from heartache and pain. Grabbing the manuscript that she had found in JTs things, she held it out to Gemma. "Promise me that when Jax becomes president, you'll tell him the truth. He deserves to know...he deserves closure. And I promise to protect you." 

Gemma nodded, grabbing the manusrcipt and placing it inside of her purse. Pulling Tara closer to her, Gemma hugged her with all of her might. "Thank you." 

"You're welcome. I'm going to change him and feed him for a bit. Maybe if he rocks for a while, he'll be able to get some sleep," Tara smiled, looking at her youngest son. "Where's Abel?" 

"Playing outside. He's so full of energy. You know what he needs?" 

"If you say a dog, I'll kill you," Tara chuckled. 

"A dog..." Gemma laughed. 

* * *

Gemma spent most of the night waiting for her husband, drinking a glass of red wine, and reading the glorified suicide note that Tara found when she was emptying the house for their new one. Hearing her husband's motorcycle, she placed the journal down and finished her glass. Clay walked in, shrugging off his kutte and handing it on the coat rack by the door. "You got home late. Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just handling that Otto thing. It's handled."

"Good," Gemma smiled softly, scooting over on the couch as Clay collasped on it. 

"What's this?" Clay reached for the manuscript, flipping through it.

"John's final manuscript. His suicide note. Tells what he knew about us, how he felt about Maureen, why he escaped to Belfast, and finally telling the club goodbye. Tara gave it to me. She's going to be a good Old Lady to Jax. Painful shit. I'm going to burn it." 

"Sorry," Clay told him, kissing Gemma on the head. 

Gemma tossed the manuscript in the fire, and cuddled against her husband. "It's done, baby. Piney's suspicions don't mean shit. Nobody can hurt us."

"Yeah. Thank God," Clay sighed, feeling weight lifted off of his shoulders. "How were our grandsons today?" 

"Good. Thomas is starting to cut a tooth. Abel needs a dog." 

"How does Tara feel about that?" 

"She said over her dead body. But they need a good guard dog." 

"I'll talk to a couple of guys and see what I can do. Think of it as a late Christmas present for them." 

* * *

 

Jax and Opie sat at the bar, sharing a bottle of whiskey. "So...Ima seemed happy to see you," Opie told Jax. 

"Yeah. That was the worst mistake of my life. I was inside my own shit and head that I didn't see how I was hurting Tara. I just wanted to keep her safe, you know?" 

"Yeah. I think that I'm doing the exact same thing to Kayla. I didn't tell her about the drugs. She found out from Addie when they went to that flower shop with Mama Gemma. She's pissed off at me." 

"Well, don't do what I did. I've learned that honesty is the key to every relationship. And so is communcation." 

"I just love her soooo much," Opie sighed. "I don't her to end up like Donna." 

"She's stronger than you know. Stop thinking with your dick and start with your heart. You two are fucking soulmates. She loves you," Jax smiled, hearing his phone beep. Looking at his phone, he moaned. "Tara...Thomas is teething. She wants me to pick up some Baby Oral gel for him. What the fuck is that?" 

Opie chuckled, finishing off his drink. "It's a type of numbing gel for their gums. Helps with teething." 

"Thanks," Jax told him, rolling his eyes. He was still learning how to deal with babies since Abel came already basically in the middle of his infancy. And Tara spent more time with him than he did back then. "Let's go, brother. You got to make up to your Old Lady, and I got to take care of a teething infant." 

* * *

"This is the only way I could get you one on one time with him. Ever since he found out about you and Luann, he's been in a pissy mood. Since I'm his lawyer, I get unlimited acess to him," Charlie explained, handing over her bag to the C.O. as she explained to Bobby.

"Thank you for doing this for me, Charlie. You're a good girl," Bobby smiled. 

"I'm doing this for Otto. He's becoming more like a father to me." 

They were led to a small private room, where Otto was led to in chains around his ankles and wrists. He was placed across from them, and his chain was attached to the table. Otto glared at Bobby, but had a soft gaze at Charlie. "How you holding up, brother?" Bobby asked, fidgiting with his thumbs. 

"You got something to tell me?" Otto asked. 

"Sorry. I got no excuse. It just happened," Bobby apologized, sincre. 

"How long?" Otto's voice was rough with emotion.

"A few months."

Otto took a shuddering breath. "Did you love her?"

"No. And she didn't love me. You were the only one who mattered."

Otto nodded, his hands clenching. "You find him?"

"Yeah. Georgie Caruso-- he's the one who killed her."

"You finish it?"

"Yeah. We took him out," Bobby lied. 

Otto bowed his head. "Alright." 

"Alright?" Bobby asked. 

"For now. When I get out of this hellhole, I'm going to beat the shit out you in the ring. Then, we'll truly be even." 

"I'll leave you and Charlie to it then," Bobby nodded, leaving. 

"Well, that better or what?" Charlie asked, grabbing Otto's chained hands. 

"A bit. At least I got some closure. So, what's up with you?" 

"I don't know..." Charlie sighed. "Have you ever pushed Luann away?" 

"Never. I loved her to much. Why?" 

"I'm scared to give Fillip my heart truly..."

"I basically helped Chibs get to America. You will never find anybody more loyal than him.  He's a very sweet man...Tell him about your pain, and you'll be surprised to know about his own pain." 

* * *

Juice sat nervously as he waited for Jax. "Did you do it?" Jax asked, coming out of the pharmacy with a brown RX bag. 

"Yeah...if they find out it was me..." 

"They won't. We have to throw Roosevelt off of our trail to protect you and the club. By the time the count, we'll have a fake one to give to them and this will be back." 

"You sure?" 

"Yeah. Trust me, Juice," Jax told him. 

* * *

Charlie sat in Fillip's dorm room as she waited for him to come back. Finally, the door opened, to see his stressed face. Charlie stood up, her breath hitching. "I've been alone for the longest time...that's why I'm so hesitant to let you in. I'm afraid that if I do, then you'll realize how fucked up I am. But the truth is that my life was so fucked up, that I created this lie to protect myself from getting hurt again." 

"Charlie..." Chibs sighed, closing the door. 

"My mother committed suicide when I was five. My dad was overseas, and I watched her slit her own wrists. I was the one to call 911. I cleaned her blood off of the floor. Then my father was kidnapped in Afghanistan and watched all of his friends die. He was a General stationed in Germany. When he came back, he started to drink...he was never violent, but he was sloppy. His pension ran out...when I was 18, I placed him in rehab. Now he lives in a halfway house with other drunks to keep his sobriety. When I was 20, I went to a party and was roofied. I was sexually assualted, and that day, I vowed to procect those that are too weak to care for each other." Charlie was silently sobbing now, tears running down her face. 

"I'm so sorry, Charlie girl," Chibs cooed, taking her red face in his hands. 

"And what scares me the most is that I want to let you in and I can't..." 

"You just did," Chibs smiled softly. "You're not the only one who's suffered because of this world. When I left Belfast, I was so depressed. I didn't want to live in a world that Jimmy lived in. So...I found an outlet for that pain..." Charlie held back a sob as she stroked the underside of his wrists where scars marred his skin. "None of the guys know...and I've been clean for a while. I may be an old man, and a bit ugly with all of the scars, but my feelings for you are as true as I feel," Chibs told her. 

Charlie let out shaky breath, rushing to kiss him. Soon, they're clothes were on the ground and they were in bed. Afterwards, they basked in their glow. Chibs was on his back, one leg bent up at the knee and the other reclined across the bed. Charlie was draped over his chest, her head against his heart. Her gentle hands stroked the scars on his arms, and her legs were wrapped around his. Their bodies were sweaty, and stuck together like glue. "The bruises are from self defense sessions at the local gym. I hire this guy...this former mixed martial arts fighter. My boss...he's been harassing me. I don't like being the victim," Charlie explained. 

"The Sons don't just sell guns. We run drugs...cocaine for a cartel. When I was counting tonight, I found one missing. That means that one of my brothers betrayed us," Chibs admitted. 

Charlie looked up at him, and softly kissed him, before resting her head in the crook of his neck. "I think I'm falling hard for you..." 

"Aye. Me too," Chibs sighed, bringing her closer. 

* * *

Opie came home with a bouquet of pink and white lilies. It was late, and the house was quiet. Stepping inside quietly, he bent down to pet the giant dog guarding the door. "Hey, boy. Where's Momma?" Opie asked Rocco. The giant dog looked at him, then turned his head towards the living room. The lights were off, except for the soft glow of the TV. Kayla was lounging on the couch, blanket thrown over her legs, curled up around a book. Kayla glanced up, hearing his light but heavy footsteps. "Hey..." Opie smiled, holding out the bouquet. 

"Hey..." Kayla said, cautiously. Grabbing the flowers, she smiled a bit. "Lilies...my favorite..." 

"I'm sorry for not telling you about the drugs. And not trusting you," Opie apologized. "I didn't want you to look at me differently...like Donna did." 

Kayla sighed, laying the flowers down on the table. "Ope...I'm not Donna. I'm not going to leave you or shut you out because of something the club does. You may be a Son, but you were Opie first to me. A kind, smart, extremely sexy as fuck man. You make my whole day. I just don't want you to shut me out. I'm not going to run..." 

"I would rather have you tell me what's up then us keeping secrets from each other." 

"Well, drugs...cocaine..." Opie began. "It was Clay's plan. Jax says that its because of Clay is cashing out." 

"So...pros and cons?" 

"Cons..pop hates it. With his health, I'm worried about how its going to make him even more pissed and he tends to go off on benders or half assed plans. Cons...divides the club. Happy, Bobby, Pop, Juice, and Chibs voted against it. Miles, Tig, Kozik, Jax, Clay, and I voted for." 

"Pros?" 

"The cash, the connections, having an extra set of hands when we're in trouble. Jax promised me that when Clay's out, we're changing the club. I'll be VP..." 

"My Old Man...Vice President. That would make me...Second Lady of SAMCRO." 

"I love you," Opie laughed, kissing her head. 


	5. The Problem With Kids These Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kids...can't live with them, can't live without them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. My new school started and I have been doing my classes. Then I've been working on my Supernatural fanfic. I'm still working on my stories, so be patient with me. Chapter doesn't follow the episode that should be about. Like I mentioned before, I'm changing things.

In the dead of the night, Juice was able to return the drugs without being caught. But what he didn't know was that someone went in behind him, stealing a one brick of the drugs. It was when Chibs counted the drugs, that he realized that something was wrong. So, here he was, in his room at the Clubhouse, hanging out with Charlie. To make matters worst, his estranged daughter in Ireland was acting out. Chibs and Charlie had fallen asleep, exhausted by their emotional rants and sex. Chibs phone began to vibrate on his night stand, causing them to groan. 

"Fillip...your phone," Charlie groaned, rolling onto her stomach, bringing the sheets and blankets up to her chin. 

"Shite..." Chibs whispered, grabbing his phone. "'Allo?" 

"Your daughter is at a party with a bunch of younger biker boys," Fiona seethed. 

"She is seventeen, Fiona. And you're all the way across the world. What do you want me to do?" 

"Talk to her, god dammit!" 

"Fiona, you're the one that wanted me to have no contact with her. We have our letters, emails, and our weekly phone calls. I'll call her tommorow and talk to her." Chibs hung up, and rolled on to his back. "Jaysus Christ..." 

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked, rolling over to face him. Laying her head on his shoulder, she tossed her leg over his. 

"My daughter...Kerrianne...has been rebeling against her Ma. Fiona is at her wits end." 

"She probably just misses you. Give her a call. Maybe invite her to the states." 

"Aye...maybe. First, we got to get you somewhere safe. Maybe with Rosen and Lowen. Get you on their payroll." 

"Maybe," Charlie echoed, opening her green eyes. Kissing the scars on his cheeks, she rested her forehead against his. "For now, go back to sleep." 

* * *

Jax and Tara didn't get enough sleep the night before. This made Jax a bit snarky, while Tara was run ragged dealing with work and the two boys. "Morning," Jax rasped out, pouring himself a big mug of coffee in his Harley Davidson travel mug. 

"Morning," Tara yawned, holding a sleeping Thomas. 

"He finally fell alseep?" 

"Finally. What's on the docket today?" Tara asked. 

"Someone stole a brick from the stock last night. It wasn't Juice because he put it back when he found the correct measurements for the fake one to throw off Roosevelt. That means we either have a traitor in our group. We called Happy to intergate the guys." 

"How fun..." Tara mocked, passing Thomas to Jax. "Would you mind laying him down and changing him? I got to get Abel ready." 

"No problem. Come on little man," Jax cooed, placing a hand on Thomas's bottom and one on his back. Rubbing soothing circles, he started to head towards the nursery, chuckling as Thomas's tiny hand began to paw at his chest. "Sorry, buddy. I'm not Mommy..." 

Laying him down, he made his way to his bedroom, grabbing his kutte and gun. Heading back into the kitchen, he grabbed Tara's hips placing a kiss on her lips. "I need to head out, baby. You going to be okay?" 

"Yeah...Gem should be here later to take over before I get home. I love you," Tara smiled. 

"Love you too," Jax grinned, kissing her again, before moving to kiss Abel on his head. "Bye, Little Man." 

"Bye, Da-dee," Abel grinned, waving. 

* * *

Addie sat on the toilet seat cover, holding the box in her hands. She couldn't truly believe it...Happy had come on almost three weeks ago now. They always never used protection, being the spur of the moment decision. She knew when this happened...one of the times he was allowed a family visit with her. It was a rare occasion, maybe happening once or twice while he was inside. But it was so worth it to be together like that. Their last one was several weeks before he got released. Sighing, she stood up, removing the stick from the box. Grimacing at how disgusting this was to her, she stood there for a moment, debating on what to do. Grabbing a cup they kept on the counter for late night water, she pulled down her pants, sitting down. Placing the cup underneath her, she counted as she peed, ignoring the sounds of the liquid hitting the plastic. When she was done, she placed it on the toilet lid as she pulled her pants back up and washed her hands. Dipping the stick inside, she pulled it out and placed the cap over it. Starting the timer on her phone, she waited. She fidgeted as Happy came inside the bathroom to go pee himself. 

"Hey," he greeted, not knowing the stick and cup of pee. After relieving himself, he pulled his sweatpants back on and grabbed the cup. 

"No, Hap! Don't!" Addie cried out, smacking the cup out of his hand and all over him. 

"What the fuck..." Happy asked, stepping back. Smelling a whiff of something, he glanced down at his body. "Is this piss? What the fuck?!" 

Hearing the timer ring, she raced passed him and grabbed the stick. "Happy..." she squeaked out, turning to face him. "I'm pregnant..." 

Happy and Addie were both in shock. They sat against the wall, staring at the white stick. Sure...they talked about having kids, but never really thought about it. Now...here sat...not knowing how to process this news. "So...do you know how far along you are?" 

"Five weeks...maybe. Give or take a few days. I missed my period. I never miss my period." 

"Fuck...we can't have a kid right now...not like this with the drugs and shit." 

"Trust me, Happy. I didn't plan on this either. Not when I'm finally establishing myself in the fashion industry." 

"Don't fuckin' put this on me. It takes two to fuckin' tango." 

"Fuck..." Addie groaned putting her head in her hands. 

Happy knew she was stressed. If not with her reputation, but with the news of the pregnancy as well. He new this because she cursed. Like him, she was a bit of a control freak. Except while he was a control freak, he couldn't be controlled. They were the perfect couple. "I don't know what to do..." Happy admitted. 

"Keep it to ourselves at the moment. Go see a doctor. Find out if I really am pregnant or not. If I am...we make decisions." 

* * *

The men congretated at the warehouse, where Chibs broke the bad news. "We're one brick light. There should be 30 keys here," Chibs explained, showing them the brikes.

"Then why am I only looking at 29 bricks?" Alvarez asked.

"Why don't you ask your boy here?" Jax asked, temper already short from lack of sleep. 

"Ask yours, asshole," Rafi bustled. 

"We didn't take the blow," Miles argued. 

"Well, somebody did."

"It was all there before 10:00. I came by after I hit the weed shop and did a walk-through. Ask him," Juice explained, knowing the exact time he put the coke back.

"Yeah, he was here at 9:30," Rafi accused.

"So you were the last one here?" Alvarez asked.

"Yeah, I stuck a key of blow down my pants and just walked out. Douchebag," Juice glared.

"Hey!" Jax called out. 

"Whoa! Hold down!" Tig ordered, trying to keep the piece. 

"Now killing each other ain't gonna solve anything," Clay told them. 

"Come on, let's go," Tig told the younger men, ushering them out. 

"Get out."

"It's all right, bro, go on," 

"Oswald's got cameras at all the entrances. I'll make sure nobody snuck in under our noses," Jax explained.

"Rafi's a straight-up soldier, ese. Been with me 15 years. It wasn't him," Alvarez told the Sons.

"It wasn't Juice."

"And the other one? He's a new patch, right?"

"Miles. I doubt it."

"The prospects?"

"We'll look into them," Clay assured Alvarez.

"And you press Rafi. You make sure there's no outside pressures you don't know about."

"We got to do this fast. Romeo's coming up to check out the operation. He's gonna want to see his blow," Alvarez explained.

"We'll leave it here for now. Tell him you didn't pick it up yet. Buys us a little more time," said Jax. 

"Well, let's hope we're not another brick shy."

"Relax," Clay sighed.

"Relax? You know who we're dealing with here, ese? What happens if the cartel thinks you're playing them?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Good. Now we find the bitch who took it, it don't matter Mayan or Son, he's dead." With that, Alvarez left leaving the SAMCRO Prez and VP to sort out their possible traitors. 

"No way this was Juice," Jax assured Clay. 

"Miles is too stupid to rip us off. Phil or Rat Boy."

"How? The room was locked. They didn't even know what they were protecting."

"They knew it was something worth protecting. Nobody else makes any sense."

"Shit. I'm gonna call Happy."

* * *

Happy had tried to make Addie some heavos rancheros that his mom taught him to make, but one bite and the smell sent her running to the bathroom. Addie forcefully gripped the porcelein bowl until her knuckles were white as she emptied out her stomach contents into the basin. Happy kneeled behind her, holding her hair back as she vomiting up last night's dinner and eggs. When she was done with that round, Addie laid her head against the toliet seat cover, cooling her over heated body off. 

"Shit...maybe you are really knocked up," Happy commented, reaching to get a clean up and a washrag from the counter. Wetting the rag, he rolled it up and laid it on the back of her neck while he gave her the water. 

Addie took it with a shaky hand and sipped it. Swishing it in her mouth, she spit in into the toliet, not wanting anything in her stomach. "Really? I thought the wakeup call and the sore breast meant that I was having some lady troubles. God, this sucks." 

"Babe...you need to drink water." 

"I don't wanna throw back up..." Addie whined, tears in her eyes. She hated throwing up...she hated being sick. Her body was hot and cold at the same time, her head felt fuzzy, and all she wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep. Addie felt the knot begin to form in her stomach. Heaving a bit, she pushed Happy aside, and emptied out her stomach this time, but this time what only came out was bile. After she was empty, she continued to dry heave until she collapsed against the seat. 

"You done?" Happy asked, rubbing circles in her back. 

"Yes...no...I don't know..." Addie sniffed, tears escaping her eyes. "Fuck!" 

Happy sighed, standing up to grab his woman. He knew that she didn't feel good. This was the second time she cursed. Turning on the shower to look warm, he stripped to his boxers, and pulled Addie up. She was a bit weak, so Happy made sure to stabelize her as he removed her tank top and sleep pants. "Come on, babe. Let's clean you up. Then I'll get some saltines and some of that peppermint tea that you like to calm your stomach. One of your minions can run the shop today." 

Addie simply nodded, allowing Happy to strip her and get her in the shower. Happy removed the shower nozzle, wetting his Old Lady before grabbing her shampoo to do her hair. After that was done, he grabbed her conditioner and finished her hair. He grabbed her loofa and her favorite body wash, washing her body thoroughly. When he got to her boobs, Addie squeezed her nails into his forearms as she rested her head against his chest. "Ouch!" she sobbed, as white hot pain flashed through them. 

"Sorry..." Happy muttered, kissing the top of her head. Dropping the loofa, he rinsed her off, lightly touching her left breast, causing her to hiss. Happy could feel that it was slightly bigger and more swollen. He then remembered how big Tara's had gotten since having a baby. Washing her off, he replaced the nozzle and grabbed a towel to dry her off. Once they were done, he helped her walk into their bedroom, where she sat on the bed. "What do you want to wear?"

"One of your tshirts and sweatpants. No bra," she answered. 

Happy grabbed one of his old SAMCRO tshirts, slipping it over her head. Walking back to the dresser, he found a pair of her light blue boxer shorts and a pair of her sweatpants, pulling them on. When she was dressed, he ushered her to lie down, and covered her up. "I'll be back, babe. Gonna grab your stuff." 

As he walked out, his phone began to ring. He answered it when he got to the kitchen, grabbing her favorite mug and a tea bag. "Yo," he told the caller. 

"Hap, it's me. We have something going down here at the warehouse. We're a brick light. Need you to shake up some people." 

"I'll be there soon. Give me a couple of minutes. Addie's sick, so I just want to get her comfortable." 

"Oh no...is she okay? Should I send Tara over?" 

"No, no. She's fine. Just the flu," Happy lied. Well, he was 99.9% sure she was pregnant, but a part of him didn't want to get his hopes up yet if she really was. 

"Okay. Take care of Addie then head over. We just need to do this before Romeo comes over later today. Addie's been a great friend to Tara, helping her with the pregnancy and Thomas, while we were inside." 

"Yeah, I will. See you soon." 

"Bye." Happy hung up, grabbing a bowl and filling it with little oyster crackers they used for stew and soup. Turning on her tea kettle, he placed the bag in the cup and waited. One thing about Addie was her addiction to teas also. She had almost every flavor, and would drink cupful after cupful. She liked tea more than her sweet coffee. When it whistled, he poured the hot water into the mug, making the tea. Grabbing the cannister of sugar, he placed five teaspoons, swirling it around. Walking back upstairs, he entered the bedroom to find her lightly snoring, burined in the covers on his side of the bed, hugging his pillow. 

"Here you go, babe," Happy told her, sitting down on the edge. 

"Mmm...thank you," Addie mummbled, blinding reaching for her tea. 

"I gotta go handle some shit. Take it easy. You need anything, call one of the girls, Gemma, or Kozik. I might not be able to hear my phone." 

"What are you going to do?..." Addie asked. Noticing the Killer look in his eyes, her stomach turned at the thought of blood. "Never mind. Tell me later." 

"I love you," Happy told her, kissing her forehead. Happy's hand wandered down to her still flat tummy, placing his hand there. A part of him was terrified to be a father. He had a shitty one that often beat his ma around, and talked down to him. And he was a man that killed people and caused people pain...like he was about to do. Removing his hand, he looked at her still body, black eyes glued to her stomach.  _I don't want to hurt you..._

Shaking himself up, he pushed his feelings into a drawer in his mind, slamming it close. He was the Tacoma Killer, the club enforcer, and a Man of Mayhem. He had a job to do, and he couldn't let things get caught in it. Grabbing his wallet and keys, he headed out, and rode off.

* * *

"Hey...thanks for meeting me here," Tara told Gemma, handing her the car seat with Thomas inside. 

"No problem baby. You look tired. Baby boy kept you up last night? Or was it Jax?" 

"It was Thomas," Tara smirked a bit, setting down the diaper bag on one of the tables. "He's starting to cut his first tooth, and has been fussy. And to top it off, I think he has an ear infection. I'm going to grab some antibiotics from work for him today." 

"Poor baby," Gemma cooed, picking her youngest grandson up from the carrier. Placing his head between her breasts, Thomas grunted as he felt the familar pillows of a woman. "He's starting to get more and more like Jax everyday." 

"I know. It's a bit annoying how he already likes so many boobs. He was trying to find Jax's today, but when he couldn't, he got mad. My boys already love the ladies." 

"All Abel has to do was to look at a lady with those big baby blues and they swoon. Thomas is looking more like you, though. Those big green eyes and dark hair." 

"But he has his father's and brother's temperment." 

"Nah, he gets that from hot Irish blood running through their veins. You're just like grandma," Gemma cooed. "Where's Abel, speaking of the little devil." 

"Elyda took Abel with her on a Target run. I'll come back for him after my staff meeting," Gemma explained.

"How's Elyda working out?"

"She's good. Abel likes her. She's teaching him Spanish."

"Just keep her away from Tig," Gemma smirked, causing Tara to crack a smile.

Outside, where the doors were open letting the clean fall air filter in, they heard a man call out to a woman. "That's $18.25, please."

"All right, hold on," the woman told him, heading inside. 

"Oh, Christ," Gemma cursed.

"Who's that?" Tara asked.

"Half of Satan's spawn. Here. Take the baby," Gemma told Tara, handing Thomas back to her.

"Mama Gemma," the woman smiled.

"Hi, baby. Daddy's not here, Dawnie," Gemma explained to the woman, Dawn.

"It's Margeaux now, with an X."

"Oh."

"He doesn't know I'm coming. Got a 20?"

"Yeah," Gemma sighed, reaching for her purse. "Here you go. Keep the change."

Since Tara had been training to take the torch from Gemma one day, her guard instantly went up around the new woman. "Hey, I'm Tara."

"Hey," Dawn nodded.

"Can I help you with this?" Chucky asked, taking the luggage.

"Holy shit. Are those things real?"

"No. I mean, yes, they exist, but..."

"Hey, where's your sister?" Gemma interjected

"That's why I'm here. She's bad. I need my daddy." Dawn began to cry, sobbing into her hands.

Gemma rolled her eyes, placing a hand on the woman's back. She's seen this all before. "Track down Tig." 

* * *

SAMCRO stood around, listening to Miles scream as Happy was in a separate room with them. "How'd Otto take it?" Clay asked Bobby, as he joined them.

"He gets it. Charlie was there to soothe things over. She's very smart, that girl. You're a lucky bastard, Chibs." 

"Aye, I am. Even though, she calls me Fillip most of the time, I like it," Chibs smiled, thinking about the wonderful sex they had last night.

"How'd you take it?" Jax asked, concerned for the older biker.

"I'm fine. How we going to handle this problem?"

"All right, he's ready. Let's go," Tig grinned, eyeing the victims.

"Clay, we didn't take any coke. shit, me and Rat, we didn't even know what the hell was in there," Filthy Phil told his president.

One of the newest prospects, Georoge 'Rat Boy' Skogstrom spoke up as well. "It wasn't us. It had to be the Mayan. He was off by himself most of the night."

"We'll get to the truth," Clay smiled, hearing a hammer hit something hard.

"No! No!" Miles begged, screaming.

"Oh, Jesus Christ," Phil moaned.

"No! No! No!" Miles continued to scream. 

After a while, Happy came out, grinning at the two prospects. "Next."

"You're up, Rat," Jax told the mousy looking prospect next to him. 

"We didn't take the blow, man," Rat begged, fearing on what was going to happen.

"Tell that to Happy. He sure looks hella stressed today."

"You guys have no idea," Happy nodded, the fact that he might becoming a father still stressing him out. It felt good to take some of the stress out on people.

"This is bullshit! I'm not going to be taken apart by that psycho," Rat told them, eyes wide with fear.

"Come on, Clay, he didn't take it. None of us did. This is... This is crazy," Phil begged.

"I'm waiting," Happy called out, swinging his hammer in his hands.

"Maybe there's a simpler way to do this," Jax told his step father.

Tig looked at his phone at a recent text message. "Clay. I got a thing at T.M. Uh... My kid just showed up," Tig told his old friend, blushing a bit.

"Which one?" Bobby asked. 

"The crazy one."

"Which one?" Jax repeated, smirking. 

"Yeah, I know," Tig groaned. Unfornateuley, both of his daughters inherited his craziness.

"I'm going with him," Bobby volunterred.

"I think we can handle it. In the gun room. Now!" Clay ordered the prospects. 

* * *

Kayla walked in, in need of a stiff drink with her favorite daughter in law. Twelve year olds are a pain in the ass. This morning, she wanted to pop Ellie in her mouth for her attitude. She was going to burst if Opie didn't talk to her. Then there was Kenny. He slept like the Walking Dead. Then she was cleaning up his room, he found one of Opie's skin mags in his room, and sticky tissues. After screaming, she scrubbed her hands, cursing Kenny and Opie to hell and back. 

"I need a drink!" she announced, seeing Tara and Piney. 

"Hello to you too," Tara smiled, giving her friend a one sided arm. "You okay?"

"I'm gonna throttle those children, I swear to god..." Kayla huffed. 

"Your dad's on the way. You need anything, you just ask Mr. Happy Hands," Gemma told a new woman.

"Thank you," the woman smiled.

"What's up baby girl?" Piney asked, grabbing her a glass and pouring his favorite vodka.

"It's 9:00am," Gemma scoffed. 

"Yes, it is," Piney grinned. 

"I'm gonna kill your grandchildren," Kayla huffed.

"Hey, I'm late," Tara told Gemma.

"Bye, honey," Gemma smiled, kissing Tara's cheek.

"Bye." As Tara was about to exit, she stopped dead when she saw Ima Tite coming out of a dorm room.

"Good morning."

"What are you doing here?" Tara glared. 

"I was a guest."

"Whose?" Kayla asked. 

"Is that really any of your business?" Ima smirked. 

"You should make it our business," Gemma told the whore.

"I was invited."

"Invitation's over," Tara growled. 

"Now would be a good time to get your shit and get out,"  Kayla told her, her temper tested today. Standing up, she stood on her five inch heels, making her taller. "Bitch, she will rip your little tits off." Tossing back her vodka, she walked after Tara. 

"Stop drinking. Watch the kid," Gemma ordered Piney, giving him one of Thomas's frozen teething toys. Gemma caught up to the pissed off Tara and Kayla who's comforting him. "Did Jax come home last night?" Gemma asked. 

"That's not the point. She shouldn't be here. I hate this shit."

"I know, baby. So, what's your problem?" 

"Ellie back talks everything I say and has a attitude as big as Mars." 

"That's normal for a girl her age," Gemma told her. 

"And I found out that Kenny has been masturbating," Kayla shivered. 

"Sounds to me that you need to sick Opie on Kenny, and show Ellie that you're the top bitch of the house." They turned to see Ima brush up against Lowell Jr, making him blush. They knew that he was a single father to Obie, a kid that Kayla often watched with Kenny. 

Kayla walked up to her and pushed her. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" 

"None of your fucking business, bitch." 

"Don't test me, your mindless blonde barbie STI infected bitch!" Kayla bustled. 

"That's not what your husband said last night." 

With a cry of fury, Kayla went after Ima, punching her in the face. Ima shrieked, grabbing Kayla's short hair. Kayla headbutted her, her IED exploding. "YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Kayla roared. 

"Hey, hey, hey, hey," Tig called out, seperating the two, grabbing Kayla. Bobby grabbed Ima.

"I WILL FUCKING END YOU!"

Ima reached into her bag, pulling out a .38 and pointing it at Kayla. "Hey, I will blow a hole straight through that pretty little yammy of yours."

"Get your crab infested shit out of here," Tara ordered. 

"Get out! Get out!" Tig yelled. 

"Keep that .38 close, bitch. You're going to need it," Tara smirked, watching her leave.

Tig sighed, turning to his mess of a daughter. "Hey, baby."

"Daddy," Dawn grinned, hugging Tig. 

"Oh, it's so nice to see you."

"You okay?" Gemma asked Kayla. 

"Yeah," she breathed out, stalking inside. 

"Call Ope," Gemma told Bobby. 

"Yeah." 

* * *

"It's about commitment. Love for the club. You get through this, we'll know you had nothing to do with the missing brick," Jax told the new prospects, pacing back and forth.

"You can't, pussy out," Opie told them. "Means you ain't straight with why you're here. Also means you probably ripped us off."

Phil's eyes grew as Opie held a gun. "Is there really a bullet in there?"

"One round. Five empty chambers. Only have to pull the trigger once."

"It's the best odds you're going to get." Chibs cocked the gun, handing it to Phil. 

"Shit. Please," Phil prayed, pressing the gun to his temple. Closing his eyes, he pulled the trigger, relieved that it was empty.

"Your turn," Jax told Rat, handing him the gun.

"No way there's a real bullet in there. If it went off, that'd be like murder."

"What's your point?"

"Jesus Christ. You're really going to make..." Rat stuttered, scared of what was going to happen.

"Are you in or out?" Jax asked.

Rat cocked the gun, yelling as he pulled the trigger on himself. When nothing happened, he tossed it, and threw up. Phil began gagging as Rat emptied his stomach.

"Yo, we got a problem," Opie called out, hanging up his phone. Walking over to Jax, he explained what the problem was. 

"Yeah."

"Where you guys going?" Clay asked. 

"Domestic problem at the clubhouse."

"Psycho porn star pulled a gun on Gemma and the girls.Kayla nearly beat her to death. She's pissed.

"Jesus Christ. Are they all right?" Clay asked, worried for his wife and future daughter in law. 

"Going to find out," Opie sighed, grabbing his gun. 

"Clay, I really think these guys are telling the truth," Juice told him, vouching for the prospects. If he didn't do it, and the prospects didn't do it...that left Miles and Rafi. 

"Yeah, prospects made it through roulette."

"Check in with Alvarez. See if we can get an ETA on Romeo," Clay ordered Chibs. 

"Done. And you need to go with them. They think you're in the E.R. So, what... what do I do with these guys?" 

"Cage match?" Jax suggested.

"Yeah," Clay agreed.

"Lovely." 

* * *

Kayla was punching the punching bag so hard that it nearly knocked into her. Her knuckles were raw, broken, and bloody. Sweat drenched her whole body as she showed it no mercy. She was pissed...she was angry. She was furious. Did Opie really sleep with her? They had a disagreement about starting a family...Kayla wasn't ready yet. Opie was in his early thirties, and had plenty of time to start a family with her. Plus, with the drugs and raising two preteens who had temperament issues, they already had their hands full. 

The Sons walked up to the clubhouse, where Tara was feeding Thomas a bottle and Abel was playing on the playground with Chucky. "You okay?" Clay asked his wife, touching his face.

"Yeah," Gemma nodded, a hard look in her eyes.

"Where's Kayla?" Opie asked.

"Cage."

"Ima?" Jax asked.

"She took off. She said some cruel shit, Ope. She said that you two slept together last night. This may be none of my business, but you hooking up..."

"Mom, don't."

"Bitch pulled a gun on me," Gemma told Jax, fending herself.

"No, she's right. It's a miss understanding. She pushed up on me last night, but I pushed her away and went home to my wife. Ima's just having a pissing contest with the old ladies."

"Well, did you flirt after I left?" Jax asked.

"Maybe a little," Opie admitted.

Piney reared back, and punched him. "Whoa!" Jax cried out.

"Your dick almost got people killed. Your wife is dealing with your two terrors called children. I don't even know who you are anymore."

Tara patched Opie up, cleaning up the gash. "Put some ice on it," Tara told him. 

"Okay, thanks."

"You okay?" Jax asked, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

"What do you think?" Tara sighed, grabbing Thomas from his carrier. 

"Doc seems a little pissed."

"She's just reliving my shit," Jax sighed, running a hand through his cropped hair.

"Well, at least she gave you a pass. Don't figure I got one of those coming," Opie chuckled.

"Getting knocked up and kidnapped kind of wipes the slate clean. I wouldn't recommend it as a fix."

"I love Kayla soooo much, man. I want kids with her...but I don't thing she's ready. I don't think I'm ready. I just figured it's what we needed."

"You're still young enough to have more kids one day, Ope. Kayla's only 25. She's still young. Give it time to grow. Enjoy each other." 

"When did you get so wise?"

"Prison and getting shanked." Opie nodded, going to finding his wife. Jax went to find his Old Lady, who was laying next to Thomas and Abel, who were sleeping. "Tara. Hey, hey. I'm sorry.," Jax told her, wiping a tear off of her cheek.

"You know what this means, right?"

"Yes."

"I have to be able to trust you."

"I'm not the one who slept with her."

"This isn't about Opie. It's about... this. How you guys treat women. We all see it...Addie, Kayla, me..."

"Don't condemn the whole club."

"You know what I mean. It isn't just a deal breaker anymore, Jax. I'm the mother of your sons. You hurt me, you hurt all of us."

"I'm not going to hurt you." Jax grabbed her face, holding it so she could see him. "All that shit that I used to do...it's all in the past. I'm a new man, now. I love you, Tara. I will die for you and my sons." 

"I love you too," Tara smiled, kissing him. Tara pushed him down, so that they were laying on the outside of the boys. 

* * *

Opie walked to see his Old Lady punching the shit out of the punching bag. Her hands were not wrapped, and blood dripped down her knuckles. Opie sighed, and walked over to her. Grabbing her hand, he made her stop and tense up. Whirling around, Opie could see that her body was covered in sweat. "Go away, Opie. I don't want to talk to you right now." 

"Too bad. We're married. I know you're pissed..." Kayla cut him off with a punch to the lip. Opie chuckled, spitting out the bit of blood from his mouth. Wiping his mouth, he grinned. Removing his SONS ring and his kutte, he cracked his neck. "You wanna fight? Fine...get inside the cage." 

Kayla stripped to her sports bra, glaring him down. Opie removed his tshirt, leaving him in his jeans and wife beater. Kayla reared back and punched him again, but Opie blocked it. "You cheated on me?!" she asked, kicking his knee. 

"No...I didn't" Opie grunted, grabbing her leg, and lifting her up and onto the ground. 

"Bastard! She said you did!" Kayla spat, wrapping her legs around his neck and squeezing. 

"She lied..." Opie chocked out, losing oxygen. "She pushed up on me...I pushed her away. I did flirt a bit...but that was it." 

"You flirted!" Kayla shouted, as Opie grabbed her ass and rolled her away from him so he could breath. It was more like a wrestling match now, each trying to take out their fustraitons on each other. Kayla straddled him, punching him. "That's. Basically. Cheating!" she spat, hitting him with each word. 

Opie grabbed onto her fist, rolling her onto her back. Grabbing her hands with one hand, he pinned them above her head, with his other hand, holding her throat and mouth with his other. Her green eyes blazed with fire. Trying to get away, she figitied, making Opie pin her legs down with his thighs and lower half of his torso. "FUCK, KAYLA! STOP AND FUCKING LISTEN TO ME! I NEVER FUCKING TOUCHED HER! SHE CAME TO ME, AND I BOUGHT HER ONE DRINK. THEN SHE WENT WITH ANOTHER VISITING PATCH! THAT WAS IT! I FUCKING LOVE YOU, GOD DAMMIT! I WOULD DIE FOR YOU! WHY ARE YOU SO FUCKED UP TO SEE THAT?!" 

Kayla calmed down, allowing Opie to remove his hands. Kayla reached up and kissed him, biting his lip. Opie growled, sucking her lips as he broke the zipper on the front of her bra. Kayla gasped, as his lips moved to her neck, biting down hard then sucking on the area to soothe it. Ripping each other's clothes off, Opie sat with her on her lap. Holding onto her hips, he forcefully brought her down onto his hard member, penetrating her. Kayla cried out in pleasure and pain at the sudden intrusion. But she couldn't get deep enough. Using her cat like skills and her trust for Opie, she swung her leg up and over his shoulder. She brought her other leg up as well, shouting as the new level of how deep he can go. "FUCK! OPIE!" she screamed, feeling him move her up and down all the way. 

"Kay-la," Opie hissed, feeling himself hit the deepest parts of her. "Fuck!" Opie continued to move her, causing Kayla to cum, shocking herself and Opie. Opie continued to move her, biting his crow ontop of her breast. "I want fucking kids...but not right now!" he admitted, driving himself closer to the edge. One thing about sex is that it made him vulernable and exposed. 

"I fucking wants kids too, but not at the moment...Oh god, right there...don't stop!" Kayla begged, throwing her head back in ectasy. 

"Shit...I'm gonna cum...you close?" Opie asked. 

"Touch my clit, Ope. Harder...Fuck me harder!" Kayla shouted. Opie gripped her hips, bringing her down as hard as he could, making Kayla scream up in the sky. "FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! OPIE!" Kayla chanted, feeling the ball of tension in her lower stomach. Opie's rough worked fingers across her belly to clit, rubbing it, sending fireworks shooting across her body. "OPIE! FUCKING FUCK!" 

"KAYLA!" Opie roared, finding his own release as she milked him. He could feel her legs quivering around his neck. Kayla couldn't keep a hold of him anymore, her legs turning to jelly as she slid off of him. Opie quickly caught her, bringing her head to the crook of his neck as he laid them down. "I got you...always." 

Kayla came too, and brushed the sweaty piece of hair out of his face. "I'm sorry for going G.I. Jane on you. I was so angry...I know you would never cheat on me. My temper was already shot today because of the kids." 

"Yeah...what about them?" Opie asked, holding her close. 

"Well...Ellie's been a big bitch to me. Like she doesn't respect my authority or me. Then I found out that Kenny stole one of your skin mags and has began mastrubating. Also, his room smells gross, it's not clean, and there are wet dream stains on his sheets. You need to talk to him." 

"Yeah. I will. And Ellie too. Pop didn't really give me the birds and the bees talk when I was younger. He just said, pussy is pussy and there are different types. Glove up, and find one that makes you happy." 

"Don't all pussy make men happy?" Kayla snorted. 

"Yours make me very, very, happy," Opie grinned, rubbing his semi hard on her thigh. 

"Easy, tiger. I'm still recovering from that earth shattering orgasm you just gave me. I can't feel my legs." 

"Sex is always so violent with you. I feel like I loose ten pounds." 

"You probably due. You've been eating healthy, so you're a lot leaner. Plus we have great sex lives, so that's good exercise for you and me." 

"About the kid thing..."

"I do want kids with you, Ope. As many as I can give you. But I'm not ready yet. Please...try to see my side." 

"I do. I'm sorry for pushing you. I had Ellie and Kenny when I was 19. Donna was already pregnant when we got married, so we didn't have time for the honeymoon stage of our life." 

"How about a compromise. We give it a year...maybe by then, you will be VP and things will be calmer. That way, we can control our rurly teenagers, will have found a new home by then, and have some money saved up for all the baby shit." 

"And if things in the club are still hetic?" 

"Then, we will do whatever it takes. But I will give you a child, Opie. I promise you...but in the meantime, we can always practice." 

"I do like that." 

* * *

Later that day, Clay waited for Jax to come out of the dorm room he followed Tara in. Sighing, he knocked but found no answer. Sighing, he pushed it open, his heart stopping at what he saw. Jax was laying on his side, his arm up protectively around his family, and his hand on Abel's back. Next to him was Thomas on his back, passed out, with Tara next to him, her arm thrown over her three boys with her hand touching Jax's waist, and her other hand, reaching up to touch Jax's. Clay smiled at the picture, backing out to usher her old lady to take a peek. Gemma teared up, grabbing her phone to take a picture of the small family. 

For those who thought Clay was a bad man, this is why he did what he did. To care and provide for his family. Kissing his wife's cheek, closing the door softly. Clay went back to the warehouse, finding out that it was really Miles who stole the drugs, suprising Opie. Apparently, he was trying to make some extra, extra cash and was going to pawn it. Juice caught him trying to give it back, but was forced to kill. Happy shot him and stripped him of his kutte. 

Opie made a house call to Ima, beating her and threatening her to leave his family and club alone. She agreed. 

* * *

Charlie sat on the dorm room bed as Chibs came home that night. "Hey, how was your day?" she asked as he shrugged out of his kutte. 

"Tiring. Still need to call Kerrianne. Yours?" 

"I got a new job!" 

"With Rosen?" 

"No...at the DAs office. I bumped into her at lunch today. Told her about my current employer trying to get me to sleep with him. She was so disgusted, saying that most men in this town were pigs that needed to be put down. So, she hired me."

"That's great, Charlie girl!" Chibs grinned, tackling her on the bed. 

Things were finally looking up for the Scotsman. 

* * *

Happy came home to find a bowl of soup on the stove for him. Eating it quickly, he walked upstairs to find his wife, sitting up in bed, still in the same outfit, nibbling on some toast. "Hey..." he called out, kicking off his boots. 

"Hey. How did it go?"

"Well, after nearly making two prospects piss themselves, I had to excommunicate Miles. He stole the coke." 

"What?! Why?!" 

"Because he wanted out...he knew he was going to get caught. Left a message. Tried to cover himself up on the video feed. Juice killed him, I just shot him a couple of times and stripped his kutte. 

"I'm sorry baby," Addie cooed, running her manicured nails down his bald scalp. 

Happy shivered, looking at the half eaten bowl of crackers and her tea cup. "Speaking of baby...you get anything down?" 

"Not really. A couple of crackers and some toast. The tea was good too." 

"Well, we got to get something down you. Did any of your sister in laws have this problem?" 

"Nope. And neither did Tara, unless you count all the stress. Maybe it's just you...the Lowman genes recking havoc on my poor body." 

Happy looked at his massive hands then back at her stomach. "I'm fucking terrified Adelaide. What kind of father would I be..." 

"A smart one. A good one. I'm terrified too...I have to push out your fat ass child," Addie chucked, trying to lighten up the situaiton. "Listen...we can do this. We're both new, despite me being there for all of my nieces and nephews and Thomas...I don't know what I'm doing. Plus we have your mom, aunt, my parents and family, and the club to help us out." 

"So...what do we do next?" 

"Figure out what I can and can't keep down. You need to start smoking outside. Figure out a budge for the baby..." 

"Well, that should be easy. I am cheap." 

"Trust me...we all know what a cheap bastard you are," Addie laughed, yawning. 

"Go to sleep, babe. You need your rest." 

"Okay..." Addie nodded, getting underneath the covers. Happy stripped off his clothes, getting underneath the covers as well. 

In the end of the day, Jax and Tara slept through the whole night at the clubhouse, oblivious to the noise outside. Tig gave his daughter Dawn the money she wanted, knowing it was for some bullshit excuse. Bobby called his own kids, happy to hear that the 14 year old Tiki was interested in bikes like his old man. Chibs talked to his daughter Kerrianne, offering an open invation to spend the summer, spring break, or winter break with him in Charming. 

Then Kayla had enough of Ellie's shit. "Listen, little girl. Until you are 21, you need to respect me. I may not be your mother, but I am the closest one that you have. I loved you and your brother far before I loved your dad. So, grow the fuck up, and get this shit together, or I swear you'll never see the outside again." 

Ellie bursted down laughing, explaining that she was being bullied at school because of her new body appearance and didn't know what to do. While most kids started to grow breasts at age 10, she started hers later. She and Kayla sat all night, talking about changes in the girls body. Kayla went to grab one of her older bras, giving it to Ellie to wear at school tomorrow. Then she told her that they would go shopping in Stockton the next day and miss school. Opie talked to Kenny about his wet dreams, that if he had one to come to him and Kayla so the could wash them. Kenny didn't want to bother anybody, so he just hid it. Opie explained that it was a normal function for boys his age. 

Happy laid on his back, his eyes closing. Turning on his side, he cautiously placed a hand on Addie's belly, picturing their child in his head. He still wasn't sure if he could do this, and that terrified him to the core. Addie shifted in her sleep, moving closer to her husband. Without a thought, she brought her hand up and rested it onto of Happy's. Happy smiled a bit, knowing that she was unconsciously assuring him that things would be okay. 

After all...kids...can't live with them, can't live without them. 


	6. Family Ties-Updated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skipping over episode 7 and going into . Still shfiting things up. I'm unsure of the timeline of events in SoA, so I'm doing the best I can, but also spreading them out a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry so the delay! Working on school work! I finally graduate in 18 months! I've been working on my Supernatural Fanfics as well. But in honor of Mayans M.C. coming to FX in the fall, I got a second wind on this story. Who's all pumped?!

The next week, things were still hectic for SAMCRO. Happy for one was stressed to the max. Addie still had morning sickness in the morning, afternoon, and night. She barely ate, only eating toast, tea, and crackers. Happy liked having his women having a little meat on her bones. That's why he enjoyed the Jellybean Lounge for a weekly lap dance. Addie wasn't skinny like Chib's girlfriend, she had natural curves that Happy loved to explore. But as of late, he could tell she lost a few pounds. While the caveman in him boasted that he had strong sperm, a part of him was worried for his Old Lady's health. So, there he crouched, holding her chestnut colored hair out of the way, as she emptied her stomach from last night. 

"Shit, Addie. Maybe we should go see a doctor," Happy told her, helping her stand. 

"I'm fine...it's normal," Addie sighed, grabbing the bottle of mouthwash. "Besides, I don't have an OB/GYN yet. I'll talk to my OB and get a good recommendation." 

"Well, I want you to go soon. I don't like this," Happy grumbled, walking into the bedroom. Collasping on his bed, he hissed as her sketch book jabbed him in the back. Grabbing it, he flipped through her new sketches, taking appreciation at the drawings. She combined the classiness of her style with the badass punk rock biker style that most old ladies wore. "Shit, Add...these are good." 

"You think so?" Addie asked, sitting on the bed. 

"Yeah." 

"I'm almost done. I'm going to send my portfolio and resume to a couple of designers. I'm thinking about selling my share of the bouqutie to Gina's daughter. She's been a great help and has really good taste. Plus, she's been bringing her mom business." 

"That's a good idea. That way you can focus on the baby." 

Addie smiled, when he said baby. He hasn't really talked about it, and she could tell that in his eyes he was scared that something would happen to it, he wasn't going to be a good father, and other rational fears. "I'm not going to give up my career. But I can always work at home." 

"Plus, we have good babysitters who know how to shoot a gun. Minus Tig...no way in fuckin' hell I'm letting him watch my kid."

"That would make Kozik happy," Addie smiled. "Your mom is going to be so happy..." 

"She will. She's going to insist on moving here just to be closer to us." 

"That's fine. There's room here...you know what sounds good?" 

"What?" 

"Your mom's quesadilla...with some soup...and blueberries..." 

"I thought you weren't hungry...plus you want that for breakfast?" 

"Yes!" Addie exclaimed. 

"Fine...calm your tits. I'll make you some," Happy sighed, getting back out of bed. 

"Can I eat in bed?" Addie asked, hopeful.

"No way in hell." 

"Please? I'm so cold...and tired..." Addie pouted, pouting her lips. 

Happy sighed. "Fine. But if you get anything on the bed, you're washing the sheets." 

"Deal," Addie smiled. Happy quickly made her food, bringing it into the bedroom. He inwardly sighed when she devored the cheese quesadilla and the blueberries. "Look...it's the size of the baby," Addie smiled. 

"No way it's that small," Happy scoffed, terrified at something that tiny. 

Addie popped it in her mouth, and looked at the bowl. "Maybe we can go to the doctor's office today...explain that I've been losing weight and making sure that everything is okay..." Happy grabbed her flip flops, putting them on her feet. He pulled her up, and into his truck he rarely drove. Parking at St. Thomas, they walked up the OB/GYN section where they signed in for a walk in. They waited, ignoring the stares from other pregnant couples. They looked odd, a tall bald man with tattoos scattered over his body and a medium sized woman, clutching his arm. "Adelaide Lowman," the nurse called out. 

Addie hopped up, and followed the nurse into a room. "I need to get your height and weight. Stand up here please...5 foot eight, 130 lbs." Happy sucked in a harsh breath when he figured out that she lost four pounds. "It's okay, Daddy. Mom will gain those pounds back in no time. Now...some medical questions..." When they were done, and after a blood draw, Addie was handed a hospital gown to change into. Addie did as she was told, tying the hospital gown in front. Happy helped her onto the table, and looked at the pregnancy posters in the room. 

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Lowman. Congratulations on your pregnancy. Your blood work came back great. So, by our calculations, you're about eight weeks pregnant, the last couple of days in the seventh week..." The doctor continued to explain different things, asking if she had troubles. Happy explained about the severe morning sickness. The doctor told them that she would write her a prescription for anti-nausea pills, along with prenatal vitamins. Then it was time for the fun part. After a breast exam, and a cervical exam along with a pap smear, the doctor grabbed her internal ultrasound wand, and placed a latex condom on it. Addie laid back, putting her feet in the stirrups. Happy noticed her anxiety and grabbed her hand. Squeezing her eyes closed as the wand entered her, she tried to brush away the pressure she was feeling. "Okay...there it is..." the doctor smiled. Addie's eyes snapped open, staring at the grainy picture. There was a big empty space where her uterus was, and a tiny thing near one of the sides. 

"That it?" Happy asked, squinting. 

"Yes, that's it. And here's the heartbeat." 

Addie let out a happy sob at the sound of the heartbeat. Happy just stared...surprised at what he was hearing. They were actually going to have a baby...a tiny mixture of the two of them...and that absolutely terrified him. On the way out with with her prescription and sonogram photos, Happy's phone beeped. "Holy shit..."

"What?" Addie asked, still engrossed in the sonogram picture. 

"Piney called for a change of leadership vote. I got to go. I'll drop you off at home and grab my bike." 

* * *

Charlie moaned as Chibs tongue and fingers entered her over and over again. Her toes began to curl as pleasure washed over her body. It stared out as an innocent makeout session when they woke up, but when he moved down her body. She was laying on her side, and gasped when Chibs moved her to her back, spreading her legs. The pleasure got intense, making her moan loudly as she moved her hands to grasp the headboard. "Chibs..." she moaned, calling him by his nickname. 

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted them, bringing Chibs away from his girlfriend's warm, wet center. Charlie made a noise as he pulled away, turning her head to the door. "What the fuck?" he whispered. 

"Chibs?" Juice called out, knocking on the door. 

"Fuck..." Chibs cursed, turning back to the blonde haired woman on his bed. Sheet covering her chest, face flushed, legs spread resting on his shoulders...no way he was going to go without getting her off. Chibs dove back in, licking her from bottom to the top, sucking hard on her clit. Charlie gasped grabbing the headboard to steady herself as her breaths became harsher. Her thigh began to quiver around his head, making him go harder. Finally, Charlie came with a loud moan and gasp, squeezing the headboard until her knuckles were white. Chibs was glad that Charlie was quiet when they made love. She often just softly moaned or gasped, instead of screaming like the firecracker Kayla was. Chibs groaned, cursing in Gaelic as he pulled away from her thighs. Kissing her left thigh, he looked at her with a roguish smile. 

Charlie hummed, eyes closing as she drifted off, rolling onto her side. Bringing her sheets up closer to her chest, she sighed, happily sated. "Fillip..." she muttered. 

"Rest my darling," Chibs told her, grabbing his boxers. Slipping them on, he pulled on his jeans, opening the door. "What the fuck do you want?" 

Tig and Juice stared at him, with his pants open and black boxers in view. Chibs..like other bikers...had no shame when it came to his body. When he had a hard on, he wasn't ashamed to hide it. Tig smirked when he saw Charlie snoring lightly, a smile on her face. "Were you busy?" 

"Yes, now what the bloody hell do you want?!" 

"Emergency meeting. Piney called for a change of leadership." 

"What the fuck? Let me get dressed." 

* * *

"Tara?!" Jax asked, seeing his phone. He just got out of the shower, and Tara was cleaning up from breakfast. 

"What's wrong?" she asked, picking Thomas up from his highchair. 

"Piney told Clay that he wants a change of leadership vote." 

"What? Why now?" 

"I don't know...the cartel? Tired of Clay's shit?" 

"That's crazy, Jax...I don't like this. It's too soon. Something is wrong." 

"I know, babe. But maybe it is time...Christ, I don't want to do this," Jax groaned, rubbing the spot between his eyes. 

"I'm sure it will all work out. Whatever happens, I'm by your side," Tara smiled, kissing him. 

* * *

Piney wiped his hands on his pants as he shifted from one foot to another. In front of the coffee table was his latest medical records. He was on death row, and he was okay with that. His last wish though was to make the club right again...for his son, and his grandchildren. Nobody knew what was really wrong with him. He had been feeling poorly for the last couple of months, but his recent stint to the hospital told the truth. He had stage four lung cancer...the tumors had spread to his heart, brain, and prostate. He had no hope...too old for Chemo. Plus, he was ready to leave this world, but before he did he was going to make sure that the past sins were corrected. 

* * *

Charlie and Chibs walked out of the dorm room, with Charlie only wearing a black pair of spandex shorts and one of Chib's button up shirts. Charlie grabbed his face and kissed him, in front of all of his brothers. There was several cat whistles as Chibs bent her backwards slightly, his hands going to her waist and ass. Pulling away, Chibs strutted towards Tig and Happy who was smirking at him. "Damn...I haven't seen you this happy in a long time." 

"Charlie girl is a nymphomaniac. Jaysus, I love her..." 

"Thinking about slapping a crow on that ass?" Happy asked. 

"Yeah. Actually I am. I never gave it to Fi. They're so similar, yet so different. Charlie is an amazing woman. Been through so much shite. I trust her, and she trust's me. I gotta take a piss." 

Happy chuckled, watching Chibs walk away. Turning towards Tig, he thought of the news he had to share. He knew that Addie wanted to keep it quiet until she reached twelve weeks, but he considered Tig his very good friend...perhaps his best friend. They were both freaks by their own definition, and often both visited The Jellybean together. Slipping his hand inside his kutte, he pulled out the tiny square. "Yeah...so...I don't do feelings and shit. But you're kinda my best friend...so, here..." Tig took the paper in his hands and unfolded it. His eyes grew wide at the picture of a tiny spot in an empty space. "Addie's pregnant. Eight weeks. Just don't be telling people yet. We're not trying to hide it, we just want to wait until we know things are safe." 

"Fuck! Congratulations brother! This is great news...having kids are the best!" Tig smiled, hugging Happy. "Wow...a SAMCRO baby. And we get to be around for this one!" 

"Yeah...it's fucking terrifying man. What if I end up like my old man, or I fuck the kid up somehow, or worst...I drop it on it's head." 

"Nah...kids are resilient. Look at Abel...he turned out alright with a crack whore mother, being kidnapped, and having his father go to prison. Besides, Addie's a smart broad. She'll make sure you don't screw up."

Jax watched Piney drown a shot of vodka, wiping his mouth. Next to him was Opie, sipping on a beer bottle. "Piney wasn't gonna proxy this vote," Jax commented.

"Wanted a front row seat."

"You talk to him yet?"

Opie shook his head. "No. So what happens if Bobby takes this vote?"

Jax shrugged. "Short term, not much he can do. Pulls us away from Galindo. Risk is too big."

"Long term, maybe Bobby's a better choice.'

"You thinking of going that way?" Jax asked, feeling a bit betrayed.

Opie sighed. "Not sure. You're staying in Clay's camp?"

"Look, I know it's dirty, bro. But he's getting us whole. Eventually, we're less desperate, make smarter choices."

"Let's vote this shit," Clay called out, stepping inside the chapel.

Piney walked up to his son, and placed a beefy hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, son."

Opie smiled, pulling him into a hug. "I love you, Pop. I'm with you on this."

"Come on, let's go."

The guys sat around the table, all nervous. "All right. There's a challenge on the table. New president. I don't think we need the formalities of nomination. You want the chair," Clay told Bobby.

"I ain't got no choice," Bobby sighed.

"Okay. Yea or nay. Bobby taking the gavel. Nay."

"Nay," Tig voted. 

When it got to Chibs, he was about to say something when automatic gunfire began to rain down on them. Charlie dropped down, taking Chucky with her as she shielded her head. The guys hit the ground , pulling out their guns. Charlie saw a red truck tossing a duffel bag out of the back, and saw a gun fall out after he was hit by a Son.

"Don't move. Stay down. Stay down," Tig ordered, making sure everybody was whole.

"You okay?" Jax asked the giant prospect. 

"Yeah," Phil nodded, standing up. Rat Boy had pulled himself together, and began to pick up tables and making sure the crow eaters were alright.

"Clear this shit out the way. Check his ink," Jax ordered. 

Charlie inched her way towards the duffel bag with Chucky as they stared at it. "Fingers, I have a bad feeling about this," Charlie told him.

"Me too," Chucky nodded.

"Lobo Sonora!" Tig answered, seeing the LS tattoo.

"Be careful," Happy called out.

"Shit!" Clay cursed.

"This woke up the whole hood, man," Jax explained. 

"Get this asshole to the rez. Call the gun warehouse, put them on alert," Clay ordered, temper flaring. 

"I'll reach out to Alvarez," Tig agreed.

Charlie's heart pounded as she knealt down and touched the zipper. Silently cursing herself, she took a deep breath. She believed in bad cliches and that the blonds always died first. But when she was scared, her dad would tell her to count to three, then she would be breathe. "One...two...three..." she counted, unzipping the bag. Upon seeing the contents, she let out a blood curdling scream, kicking it way.

"Oh, man. Clay! This is bad! Like, bad bad! What is that?" Chucky called, scrambling back as well. 

"Holy shit," Juice shivered. "That's..."

"It's Armando," Piney answered, seeing the severed head in the bag. 

* * *

Charlie was standing outside with the other guys, nursing a glass of Piney's strongest whiskey. "You find out what he knows," Clay told Happy. 

"Bueno," he nodded, going to his bike.

"Hey. Come on. You're with me," Chibs told Juice, kissing Charlie on his way out. 

"Yeah," he nodded, heading towards their parked bikes.

Piney coughed, putting a hand on his chest. "That bag of heads is your 'Get out of drugs free' card," Piney told Clay.

"What the hell you talking about?" Clay asked. 

"You tell the cartel we didn't sign up for this blood feud, and you want out."

"What do you think, I can just bail in the middle of this shit?"

"That's exactly what you're gonna do. And you're gonna do it today, 'cause your time is up. If we're still in the drug business tomorrow, I'm telling the club what you and Gemma did."

"Hey. Gun warehouse is safe, but the Mayan tortilla truck got jacked. Full load of coke on the way out to dealers. Three of Alvarez's guys MIA," Jax informed Clay as Piney walked away. 

"Goddamn it," he cursed. 

"These guys are military sharp," Tig explained. 

"How did Tucson take the news?" Clay asked.

"They had assumed the worst," Bobby told him.

In the near distance, they could hear sirens. "Oh. Great. Chocolate rain."

"Where you going?" Opie asked his dad, as he climbed up into the old truck.

"The cabin."

"Come on, Pop. Stay here. We need you," Opie coaxed. 

"You keep your head down, boy. Stay true to what you believe in. I love you..." Piney smiled, kissing his son's cheek. 

Gemma came bareling through the gate, throwing herself at her husband. "We got it handled," Clay assured her.

"Handled? They dumped a bag of heads. I'm living in goddamn Juarez her," Gemma stressed. Sighing, she turned to her son and husband. "Garden fund-raiser's tonight."

"Tara, Rita, and her have been working so hard on it," Clay sighed, rubbing the spot between his eyes. 

"Ain't gonna be any fund-raiser after this," Jax denied, shaking his head. There was no way he was letting his fiance and his mother go the fundraiser with threats over them.

"We can't back out," Gemma explained.

"We don't know what the hell we're dealing with here, Mom."

"This noise is gonna be all over Charming. If we hide, looks like we got something to hide from."

"Fund-raiser shows Charming the Sons give a shit. We need that," Clay sighed, realizing that his wife was right.

"Have Phil shadow me. Take a grenade to get past him."

"No. Tig. He's the only one I trust to keep you safe," Clay told his wife, glancing at his best friend. 

"Uh, guys. You have company," Charlie called out, seeing Roosevelt get out of his car and headed over to them. 

"Shit," Jax cursed. 

Charlie could see that Jax was stressed to the max. Thinking about Fillip, she straightened up, and pulled her hair up in a professional looking pony tail. Jax and the other Sons have been kind to her ever since they started dating. She knew she was an outsider...a uptown girl with a stellar GPA and IQ. She had bags by Gucci, Wang, Vuitton, and Chu. "He's going to make a big deal out of this and raise a big stink. Make up an excuse...say that it was an angry customer or another garage. You all have tells...try to keep it realistic as much as possible. Feed off of each other." 

"All right. Lock it down!" Roosevelt told his officers. 

"Let me guess. You smell smoke?" Jax asked, glancing at Charlie. 

"No. Bullets. And based on all the calls and the looks of the clubhouse, I'm guessing they were of the automatic variety."

"Yeah, we noticed that. Glad you're here. Feel safer already."

"You have any idea who it was?"

"Nope."

"I don't like to point fingers, but, uh, Dezarian Motorworks, Tenth Street-- they've been kind of pissed off at us since we expanded our custom bike business."

"Disgruntled mechanics?"

"Mm."

"Armenians. Very unstable people," Gemma added.

"Well, I really appreciate your cooperation, but we'll still have to conduct a full investigation."

"Knock yourself out. Be sure to take it up with our legal counsular, Ms. Hanson," Jax glared, nodding his head to Charlie.

"Ah yes...I remember you. Nice to see you again, Ms. Hanson." 

"I'm sure it is," Charlie grinned. 

"You know, I really hope this attack doesn't interfere with anything. You know, I've been reading up on you, Ms Hanson. It seems like Daddy has problem's with drugs and booze." Charlie laughed, bitterly. "And Jax, I hope that this doesn't affect your family. I met with Tara the other day at the hospital when I was there with my wife. You have a beautiful family. Be really sad to see their daddy catch a bullet." 

"Yeah. It would be. You have kids?" Jax asked. 

"No."

"You really should. It's good to have a reason not to die."

"Your compound is a crime scene. Lock it down, and stay the hell out of my way. Okay, okay."

Charlie followed Roosevelt away from Jax. "Talk about my father again, I will end you."

"Are you threatening an officer of the law?"

"No, I'm simply comparing my dick to yours. Fuck with my dad or my family, you fuck with me. I don't like getting first. You want to do this, then let's do this. I will take your whole family apart. Why do you think I got to where I am now. I'm not going to let any man stomp in my way. The Sons of Anarchy are my new clients. I would like the copy of the incident report on my desk as soon as you have one, Sheriff." 

Jax, Tig, Gemma, and Clay watched as Charlie had a pissing contest with Roosevelt, while Jax smirked. "Damn...she's crazy. I like it," Tig grinned.

"She's cutthroat. I approve," Gemma smiled. "Tara's fine. I just talked to her. She's on her way to work. Rat's with her."

"Take care of her," Clay told Tig as she walked away. 

"Always."

"Let's get out of here," Gemma called to Tig.

"Love you." 

"If you want Clay, I can look into the guy to see what I can find. Also, look into Roosevelt," Charlie told the SAMCRO Prez. 

"Go for it, sweetheart." 

* * *

"Heads? In a bag?" Kayla asked, making cookies for the fundraiser, her cellphone between her head and shoulder. 

"Yeah," Opie told her, sitting on his bike. "I know you want to go to the fundraiser to support Gem and Tara, but I don't think you should go with the kids. I want my family safe. Not until this solves it self." 

"I was looking towards our night out, Ope. Kinda like a date night out. I even bought new lingerie..." 

"Mmm," Opie hummed, closing his eyes. "We can still have our night out this weekend. I'm off from the shop this weekend and so are you. So, we can ship the kids off to Jax's or to Ma's, or to Addie and Hap." 

"That sounds perfect, I guess. You doing okay?" 

"Yeah, just stressed. And pissed." 

"I'm sorry, babe. When you get home, I'll have a nice cold beer waiting for you and a nice warm bubble bath. I'll give you a nice rubdown." 

"Wearing the lingerie?" 

"Maybe...or nothing on at all." 

"Even better. See you later, babe. I got to go." 

"Love you." 

"Love you too." 

 Meanwhile, Happy was cleaning is favorite screwdriver as Jax and Clay came rolling up. "He hasn't said a word."

"You sure you didn't cut out his tongue?" Jax asked, seeing all of the blood instruments. 

"Not yet. And I'm running out of ideas," Happy sighed. This was not his day today. A vehicle approached, with Rafi and Luis getting out of the car.

"Galindo. Now it's time to pray, you bastard," Rafi told the man that they captured. 

"You told us we didn't have to worry stateside, Lobo had no northern networks," Clay told Luis. 

"They don't. What's our guest saying?"

"Nothing," Chibs answered, wiping his hands off on his black jeans. 

"He's definitely Lobo. Ex-military, infantry," Luis told them, catching the sight of the man's ink, pulling out a syringe and a vial of liquid. 

"What's that for?" Happy asked.

"Sodium pentothal. Time to get him talking. Pedro, take him to the back."

About twenty minutes later, Luis came back out. "That Lobo says there's a rat in your crew with roots in Nogales." 

"He's a lying bitch, this one," Alvarez seethed.

"It don't matter Mayan or Son. That bitch is dead," Jax explained. 

"That guy is full of shit, man."

"No, he's full of truth serum, and if he says the Lobo's getting intel from a Mayan, then he's not lying."

"A Mayan with family in Nogales. Now, who would that be, Marcus?" Clay asked, looking to the Mayan President.

"Pedro."

"That Pedro? Scumbag was in my clubhouse," Jax seethed, his vison turning towards blood. His family could've been in there. 

"That's how they knew where to hit us, where the cut and the bag was. I'm gonna rip off his heart. Mother-fucker... bastard. Hey, hey. Don't touch him.. " Opie told the group of cartel men dragging the shooter away. 

"Look, if Pedro is the pipeline to Lobo, then let's feed him something useful. Our guns. We'll tell 'em we're moving them out of Cali tomorrow, that we're storing them here tonight. Then you and your guys take 'em down," Jax suggested. 

"That soldier says there's about 25 Lobos local. I only have four other men with me. I'll need support," Luis told the Sons. 

"Oh, Jesus," Bobby groaned.

"We're not exactly an infantry unit, bro," Jax admitted, looking around at their so called ranks.

"Well, you will be, because make no mistake, gentlemen. We're at war." Luis walked away, allowing SAMCRO to talk within themselves. 

"Alvarez is gonna bait the hook-- let Pedro know the guns will be here at 8:00," Clay told Jax. 

"All right, I'm gonna put the prospects on the warehouse, pull Tacoma into this," Jax nodded. 

"I'm gonna cancel the fund-raiser."

"No, man. It's good you be there. Puts us somewhere else if this gets noisy." 

"I know every thought that's going through your head right now. But we got to roll as one into this. Otherwise, we're all dead," Clay sighed.  

"Yeah, I know," Bobby nodded. 

"You'll get your leadership vote."

"Let's hope there's someone left standing to lead."

"I'm gonna ride out to the house, see my kids and my wife."

"That's good, man. Where's Piney?" Jax asked, glad to see that Opie was still keeping Kayla in the loop.

"Tequila retreat. Cabin."

"I'll take a ride out, check in on him," Jax told his best friend.

"Appreciate it."

"I'm sorry, man. I never thought muling would lead to this shit."

"I know. We're in it now, brother. Got to get it done, move past it," Opie sighed.

"Yeah."

* * *

Opie called Kayla and let her know that he was on his way home. As promised, she had his favorite burger from his favorite resturant, a cold ice beer, and a warm bath waiting for him. The kids were occupied with the TV and homework, allowing the two adults special time for each other. Opie sighed as he leaned back inside of the tub, his long body sticking out almost. Kayla was nestled into him, her back to his front, massaging his legs. "Better?" she asked. 

"Much...this is what I needed babe." 

"Got to keep my man happy. So...shit's really hitting the fan, huh?" 

"Yeah...I knew that this drug smuggling shit was dangerous, but I still let Jax pull me into the vote." 

"It's done with now, Ope. Can't turn it back. " 

"I know...I just...I don't worry about myself dying. I worry about you and the kids getting hurt. Loosing Donna nearly killed me, but loosing you...I might just end it like that. And the kids...they love you. They think of you as a mom, I don't want them to loose another mother..." 

"Hey, hey, hey..." Kayla told him, turning around. Straddling his lap, she took his bearded face in her hands. "Nothing is ever going to happen to me. You can't push me away ever. And don't think about going off and dying on me. We're soulmates." 

"I love you..." 

"Love you too," Kayla smiled, kissing him. 

* * *

"Hey? That chili ready yet?" Officer Cane asked. 

"No. It's got to simmer for, like, a long time," Chucky told him, stirring the pot and putting the lid on.

"No, it's simmered enough. Give me two bowls of it."

Tara came in to see Charlie on her laptop, her platinum blonde hair piled in a knot. "Hey...what's up?" Tara asked. 

"Trying to find dirt on Roosevelt. How are you?" 

"Concerned for my fiance and his club." 

"Hey. Thought you were in surgery today," Gemma asked. 

"I took a sick day. I was worried for Jax and the club."

"Ah, sweetheart," Gemma sighed, hugging her almost daughter.

"Am I crazy, Gemma? Why do I believe him when he says it'll get better?"

"'Cause he means it. No one saw this coming, baby. I hate this shit, too."

"I'm trying this his way. I really am."

"I know you are. So does Jax. We pull through, and we stick it out. That's what family does. Come on. Let's go check on my chili. Come on. What do you think, guys, good?" Gemma asked the officers who chowed down on her chili. 

"Yeah, it's good," Cane nodded.

"I'll be... I'll be right back," Gemma told Tara going into the kitchen.

"Hey, uh, hang on. Gemma, hang on. It's not ready. Gemma! Hey!" Chucky protested as she lifted the lid a bit to peak inside. 

"Hey. Did you follow the recipe?"

"I had to add a few things of my own," Chucky smiled. 

"I can see that," Gemma smiled, seeing one of the heads. 

"Is it spicy?" Tara asked, coming into the kitchen.

"Uh, very. Actually made my eyes burn," Gemma lied.

"Oh."

"May have gotten in over my head," Chucky smiled, apolgeically.

"Yeah, well, you know, it's an old family recipe. It's a delicate process. I probably should've made it myself. Uh, why don't you take it up to the reservation. I think Happy likes it that hot," Gemma told Chucky. 

"Yeah. I accept that." 

* * *

 

"Well, well, well. You on task or is this a, uh, social call?" Piney asked, opening the door to Jax. 

"I'm just checking in," Jax smiled, stuffing his hands inside of his hoodie pocket. 

"I'm fine."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I know you and Clay have been going at it over this whole cartel thing."

"You don't know anything." Piney turned his back to Jax and opened the door. 

"Look, I get it. You're pissed. I'm just trying to tell you my side of it."

"Do you have a side anymore?"

"Okay. I'm sorry."

"For ten years, I gave up on this club. Rode my limit just to keep the patch. And then you came up. You reminded me so much of John. Just... It felt like maybe our idea still had a chance."

"Well, I'm not my old man."

"Oh, I'm very clear on that now."

"You need to rip him off the pedestal, Piney," Jax growled, frustrated. "JT bailed on all of us. You trying to tell me you didn't know about Maureen Ashby? About Trinity?" 

"Maureen was a distraction. But when your brother took a turn for the worse, your dad was right back here."

"Yeah, damage already done."

"We all do damage. Character's determined by how we repair it."

"Well, JT didn't repair much."

"He didn't have a chance. You do!"

"I'm fixing what matters! You know, my old man was right about one thing. This club has lost its way. And I thought I was the guy that was gonna change that. And then I realized that that arrogance, that that belief that one man can change it, is what drove my old man into the ground. I'm trying to do what I can!" 

"Defeat is not what killed your father!"

"I don't want to hear about history! I'm taking care of what's in front of me."

"You and Clay both."

"This isn't about Clay. It's about me. It's about me figuring out what I got to do today that keeps me alive tomorrow. This ain't about the club, Piney. It's about my family." 

Piney chuckled, shaking his head. "I won't tell you how much you just sounded like your old man. Your father was... He was the best man I ever knew. And before you let him die, you should find him... and know that for yourself." 

* * *

After the disaster of the traitors, the men of SAMCRO went home with their tail between their legs. Opie went home to see the kids all in the bed and Kayla in the bed wearing her new lingerie. Smiling to himself, he kissed her cheek and crawled into bed behind her, spooning her. Chibs could tell that Juice was having a hard day. Roosevelt was still riding his ass about turning him against SAMCRO, allowing him to accompany him to his small apartment. Charlie was there, eating cold Chinese food. With a kiss on the cheek, Juice instantly found a friend in the tall, blonde woman. Yes, she was a bit younger than Chibs, but he could tell that Chibs liked her. Happy came home to Addie passed out on the couch, an empty carton of ice cream sitting on the dining room table with a spoon next to it. Addie was messy, compared to his cleanliness. Smirking, he grabbed the carton and rinsed it out in the sink. Tossing the carton in the recycle bin, and the spoon in the dishwasher, he sat on the couch, bringing her head to rest in his lap. Hearing the crinkle of paper, he pulled out the sonogram picture of his unborn child. Closing his eyes, he sat back and dreamed of what their child, most likely a son, would look like. 

Jax came home to Tara waiting for him. Sighing, he collapsed in a dining room chair, rubbing his eyes in frustration. Tara smiled sadly, and stood, hugging his head and shoulders as he rested his head on the table and forearms.  "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, no...I'm trying my hardest...but I don't know how much more I can take...Maybe Bobby would be a better President." 

"Listen to me...you're not Clay, you're not John. You're Jackson. Maybe you need a break...maybe we all need one..." 

"What are you saying?" 

"There's a conference in Oregon. I can go with the boys and you can come in a day or two after things are a bit calmer. We can re-explore our relationship...get a nice hotel room...Neeta can come..." 

"That's a good idea," Jax told her, looking up at her. "You tell Ma that we're going on a family vacation." 

* * *

 

Clay told Gemma that he would be home late, so Gemma had Tig take her home from the gala event. Clay got to the cabin and knocked on the door. He was right about before...he loved his town. He wanted his town back...and maybe that meant he had to do what he thought was right. Knocking on the door again, he listened for an answer. "Piney?!" he asked. Sighing, he pushed the door open and walked in. There on the couch was Piney sleeping. Walking over to him, he tried to shake him awake. "Hey, Old Man..." Clay touched his hand and froze. A slow smile spread across his face as he grabbed the bottle of tequlia and dumped it down the drain. Got to get rid of the evidence. He would make it look like he fell asleep and never woke up. His skin was pale and there was a light yellowing around his eyes. Taking off the oxygen nasal canola, he set it to the side. Looking around, he tried to find the letters. 

"I win...send JT my regards," Clay smirked. 

Sitting down in a chair, he grabbed the untainted bottle of whiskey and poured him a glass. His plan worked perfectly. It started all back when JT was loosing his way. He was already breaking apart. So, he made sure to push it farther and get with his wife. He really did love Gemma, and to him that was like rubbing salt in JT's whopping hole in his heart. Before he died, he placed drugs in his alcohol. He knew that JT was drinking more heavier than normal. He then had Lowell Sr mess with his breaks. It looked like a suicide and those fucking letters pointed to it. 

He basically did the same thing here today. Pulling out his phone, he made an anomous 911 call for the old bastard. Sitting back, Clay knew he was a King...he was untouchable. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! At Last! So...some words about this chapter. I didn't like Tara bailing out on SAMCRO and Jax. So, she and Jax are going to try and stay and make the club life and personal life work. Everybody needs a break. Piney had stage four lung cancer that spread to his brain and liver. He wasn't healthy because of his COPD and all of the heavy drinking. He was tired of watching his beloved club wither away. He then got a hold of some pills and ended it. If anybody is feeling suicidal, please go get help.


	7. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Canon from Season 4 episode 9 and 10. Please re-read the previous chapter. I changed the ending.

Kayla had been through hell and back before in his life. But trying to get her depressed husband and step kids together for a funeral, that was a real difficult thing to do. Sighing again, she knelt down , keeping her short lacy black dress over her ass she bent down and tied Kenny's shoes. "Thank you," Kenny told her sadly. 

"You're welcome." 

"Is Pops with Mom now?" he asked. 

"Of course he is...and he loved you so much...both of you..." Kayla smiled sadly at the twins. 

Keeping her own tears at bay, she knocked on her and Opie's door, opening it slightly. "Hey, baby...you ready?" 

"How did this happen?" 

"Your dad was sick baby...you knew that..." 

"Yeah...but why didn't he want to get help? How he could do this to me?!" 

Kayla grabbed him but the shoulders and brought his body against hers, stroking his long hair. "I'm so sorry, baby...you're dad was a great man...you can't blame this on yourself...he wouldn't want you too." 

"Promise me that you'll never leave." 

"I promise..." Kayla told him, stroking his cheek, then kissing his lips. "I'm not going anywhere..." 

After the funeral, the feeling in the clubhouse was somber. Tara stroked Jax's back, knowing that this was hard on him. Piney was a second father to Jax...to all of the guys. To loose him hurt all of them. She wished that she looked at his medical records more closely the last time he collapsed. "A minute Jackie?" Chibs asked. 

"Sure..." Jax nodded, looking towards Tara. 

"You go...I'm gonna catch up with my girls." 

After Tara was out of earshot, Chibs looked to Jax. "This isn't good Jackie...This is shite...the club is on edge, Juice is about to have a fuckin' mental breakdown, Hap's talking about taking Addie and going back to Nomad or Tacoma. What are we going to do?" 

"I don't know...Juice...I know he's been going through a rough time." 

"He's young, Jackie...I'm worried that he might do something..." 

"Son's don't kill themselves...Club will vote him out. No one will trust me."

"Aye, but I do. My first kill for the Irish-- young Constable in Omagh. My age. Me and him could have been classmates. I put two bullets in the back of that boy's head. Never even seen it coming. shit broke me, Jackie. Came close to swinging from that tree myself." 

"Do you think he'll be able to do it?" 

"I don't know, Jackie. Let me... let me watch him for a while, figure him out, find out where he's really at. And we got to get Clay to take him off this cartel shit." 

"Yeah, okay." 

"Hey," Charlie greeted, kissing Chibs on his scarred cheek. "I'm sorry for your loss, Jax," Charlie smiled, hugging him. 

"Thanks. And thank you for getting his legal shit together. I...we...really appreciated it." 

"No problem," Charlie smiled, going back to Chibs side. 

"Hey, Son," Clay greeted. 

"Hey," Jax nodded. 

"We have company outside." 

* * *

"I can't believe he's gone...he was such a tough old bastard," Kayla sighed, sitting on the rooftop with her heels off. 

"Tell me about it. I new something was wrong when he collasped the other day," Tara agreed, sipping her glass of wine. 

"It's a sad day for SAMCRO. That's for sure..." Addie nodded. 

"Hey...got us more booze," Charlie told them, walking up the ladder with a bottle of tequlia and shot glasses in one hand and her shoes in the other. The trio of Kayla, Addie, and Kayla had now became a sisterhood including the newest old lady Charlie. While they were "official" yet, it was clear to see that the Older Scotsman outlaw had fallen for the uptown, younger lawyer. 

"Yes!" Kayla cheered, grabbing the glasses from her. She laid them out and grabbed the bottle as Charlie climbed over the rail to sit on one of the lawn chairs they smuggled up there. She poured them all a shot and lifted hers up. "To Piermont Winston...a tough old bastard who was good with the ladies and who could drink like a fish." 

"Cheers," the girls echoed clinking their glasses together and downing them. All except for Addie who held hers in her hand. 

"Addie, you're not drinking?" Tara asked. 

"Well, I'm not supposed to..." 

Tara thought for a moment and gasped, smiling. "Oh my god! Congratulations!" 

"What?" Kayla asked. 

"She's pregnant!" 

"Oh my god!" Kayla squealed, hugging her. 

"Congratulations," Charlie grinned. 

"Thank you. Just keep it to your selves. I'm still not that far along and we want to tell everybody after I reach the 12 week marker." 

"Me and Jax are going away to Oregon for a bit. Just a vacation," Tara told them. 

"What about the club?" 

"We both need to get away from the club for a while. All of the cartel shit is putting a strain on us. We just want our boys to be safe." 

"I understand. I recently got a new gun for the house. Opie don't know yet. Don't tell him," Kayla warned. 

"My apartment has a security system like Fort Knox. No one is getting in there unless I want them too," Charlie told them. 

"Paranoid?" Addie snorted. 

"Try living with black ops dad who is paranoid." 

"Touche..." Addie nodded. 

* * *

"That Lobo we pressed was telling the truth. Our intel confirms there are two dozen Lobo Sonora in the area, making alliances for their coke," Luis told Clay and Jax, standing next to Alvarez. 

"Who they reaching out to?"Clay asked. 

"We're not sure."

"How about Henry Lin? The Chinese branching out?" Jax thought. 

"I don't think so. Chinks' H trade has been growing. They've taken over the Maze," Alvharez answered. 

"That's Niner turf. Laroy's just handed over his territory?"   

"Oh, shit. Maybe it's Laroy who's doing the branching out. Found himself a new product," Clay suggested. 

"Oh, my God. That would explain why he's been MIA last few times we reached out," Jax realized. 

"What's your relationship with them?" Luis asked, looking at Alverez. 

"Peaceful. Has been for the past two years."

"Yeah, we're supposed to drop guns to them next week," Jax explained.

"All right, we'll move it up, meet a couple of days from now. We'll find out where they're at," Clay nodded. 

"I have three dozen men on the way, be here by noon. We'll back you up," Luis told SAMCRO. 

"If the Niners are buying from Lobo, this guy is gonna slaughter them. That changes the whole dynamic in Oaktown. It wipes diplomacy off the table for good," Jax stressed. 

"Maybe it's time we clean house. Relationships are overrated," Clay shrugged. 

* * *

Charlie sat on the couch in Chib's small apartment looking through Piney's fiances. The old man had a lot of loose ends, which confused her to no end. "Hey, darlin..." Chibs greeted, coming from the bedroom in nothing but a pair of low hanging sweatpants. "I didn't hear you get up." 

"I couldn't sleep. I'm sorry...there's coffee on the counter..." Charlie told him, tilting her face up to kiss him. "Juice still sleeping?" 

"Yeah...poor wee bastard..." Chibs sighed, collapsing next to her. Charlie moved her feet and tucked her toes underneath his thigh, keeping them warm. She wore one of his old SAMCRO tshirts and a pair of boxer panties with his Harley Davidson blanket over her legs. 

"I love how you care..." Charlie smiled, rubbing her foot along his leg. 

"He's like a little brother to me. This whole club is my family. What are you doing?" 

"Looking at Piney's fiances. Something just doesn't seem right..." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I don't know...it's just something that I feel. You're dying...if you know you're dying, then why would you not tie up loose ends." 

"You didn't really know Piney..." 

"Regardless. My instincts are telling me something...and they're almost never wrong." 

"What did they say about me?" Chibs grinned, stroking her bare thighs. 

"That you were a Scottish bastard that hogged the bed and sheets, liked the quiet outdoors, and was a loving but rough lover," Charlie grinned as Chibs gripped her ankle and pulled her down onto the couch. He removed the laptop from her hands and leaned up and kissed her lips. 

"You're right. You're instincts are never wrong." Chibs gave her a wolfish grin and began to nip down her body to the junction between her thighs. 

"You bastard!" Charlie laughed, feeling his goatee tickling her thigh as he kissed from the junction of her thighs down to her feet. 

"Hey..." Juice greeted, coming from the spare bedroom. 

Chibs sighed, kissing Charlie's thigh and quickly covering her up with the blanket. "Morning, Juicy." 

"Morning, guys. Was I interrupting anything?" 

"No, Juice. Nothing at all," Charlie sighed, patting Chib's thigh. "I gotta get ready to go." 

"I can't believe you got an interview with the D.A. as the A.D.A," Juice scoffed. 

"I know...who knew that having a good old patriotic daddy and grandpa could be used as an advantage. Now, I'm going to work on taking down Roosevelt. Don't worry, Juice. I'll keep that bully off of your back. I'm gonna kick his fucking ass." 

"Thanks, Charlie," Juice smiled. "I got to get to the clubhouse. Jax wants me to make sure that they'res no bugs in there." 

"Great...I got to go to breakfast at Gemma and Clay's." 

* * *

"Thanks, Mom," Jax smiled as Gemma fixed him a plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. 

"How you doing, Ope?" Gemma asked, patting him on the back.

"I still can't believe he's gone," Opie sighed. 

"He lived a good life," Kayla smiled, fixing her own plate and kissing Opie's head. 

Clay said nothing, not feeling guilt. After after what he had done. He got away with murder...again. His ego was inflated, but now he had bigger fish to fry. He had to keep this deal alive and make sure Jax continued his legacy and his club. 

"Baby. Where's Juice?" Clay asked his wife, looking for the young Peurto Rican kid.

"Sheriffs are clearing out of TM, so I put him at the clubhouse, sweeping for bugs, checking the hard drives."

"Good."

"You really think Laroy's stepping on us? Hooked up with Lobo?" Opie asked Jax pulling Kayla down on his lap. 

"It all points that way."

"So what happens now?" Happy asked, his quiet raspy voice voicing everybody's thought. 

"Yeah, what happens when we find out Lobos are working with the Salvadorans or the Armenians? What, we gonna take on everybody?" Bobby asked. 

"This ain't us leading the charge. It's Romeo and Luis. It's their fight," Clay explained. 

"Look, if the Niners are working with the Lobo, we'll get them to arrange a meet. Galindo can take it from there. Send this beef back to the border," Jax shrugged, reaching for his coffee. 

"Yeah, 'cause all our plans with these guys have worked out just perfectly," Bobby tisked.

"Enough! We voted it in! We play it out," Jax yelling, feeling a wave of nausea hitting him. What was he doing with his club? He wanted to change things, but the further down they go down this path, the more twisted this is becoming. The doors opened, alerting them of Chib's entrance. "You can't get behind that, turn in your goddamn patch."

Chibs closed the door, looking at everybody closely, as he handed Clay the phone. "Irish. O'Shay and Rourke."

"Gaalan. Appreciate the call," Clay greeted, leaving the room. 

"So...Charlie is on her way to becoming the A.D.A. Has her interview today," Chibs told them, grabbing himself a plate. 

"I like her...Girl has bigger balls than anybody," Bobby commented, eating his bacon. 

"She's really been a help in sorting out Pop's assets," Opie nodded. 

"Plus, she sure knows how to have a good time," Kayla grinned. 

"She's smart, resourceful, doesn't take shit from anybody, and has a hard attitude. She's going to take him down..." Jax grinned. 

"Add really likes her. Should I get my equipment ready?" Happy grinned, eating his bacon. 

"Not quite yet. But maybe one day soon." 

* * *

 

Charlie drove with Juice to the Clubhouse to pick up her car. When they got there, Juice was fidgiting. "Juice...you okay?" she asked. 

"No...I don't know what to do anymore..." Juice stressed. 

"Come on..." Charlie grabbed his hand, leading him to his dorm room. Playing loud music to drown out their conversation, she looked at him. "Spill." 

"Roosevelt is trying to get me to turn against the club because I'm half black! If the club finds out then  I'm gone. I don't want to be out of the club...this is my family...I have no one out of this club..." 

"Juan Carlos...breathe..." Charlie ordered, sitting him down on his bed. "You're having a panic attack." 

Juice took a deep breath, nodding his head. "I have OCD. I take pills sometimes, but they make me feel woozy." 

"Juice...my father is an alcoholic with PTSD. He was also a single father, always wanted a boy. When I was five, he bought me a BeeBee gun. When I was ten, he took me out to learn how to shoot guns. He wasn't really sure I was a girl until I started sprouting out boobs and had my period. So, I know how to play with big boys. What Roosevelt is doing to you is wrong. So, here's what we're going to do..." 

Juice finished scanning the clubhouse, then turned to Roosevelt. "Your guys already left. Crime scene's down."

"Oh, it was just a follow-up. You have got to pick up the phone when I call you, Juice. Now, there's six disposable burners in there, and I know you're responsible for the club's communication."

"I'm done. I can't do this anymore," Juice lied, enstating Charlie's plan.

"Jesus Christ. What did you do?"

"Tell them I want out." 

After Roosevelt left, Juice went back to his dorm room where Charlie was waiting. "You good?" she asked. 

"Yep...if felt good to screw him one over." 

"I know. Now...tell me about this guy he's flying in to play A.D.A?" 

"Lincoln Potter. Real smooth guy. Talks a big game." 

"Well, when I'm done with them, they won't know what hit him." 

* * *

 

"It's been a minute, gentlemen," LaRoy greeted his old allies.

"Yes, it has," Jax greeted him, shaking hands.

"Seems like our state facility treated y'all well." Clay chuckled. "So why are we meeting down here in the middle of the dead zone? Y'all got some new merchandise y'all need to shoot off?"

"Nah. We just like the peace and quiet," Clay smiled. 

"Yo, where the guns at?" asked another member of the Niners. 

"Get 'em."

"How's business?" Jax asked.

LaRoy shrugged. "Can't complain."

"You, uh, rolling a little deep for a pickup," Clay commented, seeing the group of cars.

"So are you."

"I hear you're moving out of H. You got a new product," Jax hinted out.

"Carousel of progress."

"Cocaine carousel?" Clay asked. 

LaRoy glared at Clay and Jax. "Not your business. You sell the guns, I'll sell the drugs."

Jax put up a defensive hand. "Look, man, it's all our business. We made a deal with Galindo. You buying from Lobo puts us at odds. We can't have that."

"I don't give a shit who you're dealing with. You don't tell me how to make my goddamn money," LaRoy spat.

"I ain't gonna tell you anything, but I have a feeling these guys might want to weigh in." 

Jax looked down as the cartel men came in. "What is this? You set me up," LaRoy cursed, spitting at Luis's face. 

"Don't!" Jax warned, pushing LaRoy back and punching him to calm him down. Turning to the cartel, he held up his hands. "Easy! Back off! These assholes will cut off your goddamn head." Turning to LaRoy, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Be cool, and I will try to get you out of here alive."

"Lobo approached us last month, before you guys even got out. We didn't know about Galindo," LaRoy explained.

"What'd they offer?" Clay asked.

"Manpower, protection, a piece of anyone else we brought in to buy. They want to grow."

"Call them. Tell them you have a big buyer with an urgent need. I'm gonna line up your men, I'm gonna gun them down, and I'm gonna drop their bodies on their mother's doorstep," Luis warned. 

Jax looked at LaRoy whispering. "Let us talk to him. Come on."

LaRoy walked a couple of feet away with Jax, talking quietly. "I turn on Lobo, they'll crucify us."

"You see what we got behind us here? You don't get on board, there won't be anything left to crucify," Clay told him.

"Bro, we cannot get in the middle of a cartel beef. Got to roll with Galindo. We'll talk to Alvarez, figure out a way to cut in the Niners," Jax told him. 

"All right."

"All right."

* * *

Charlie smiled as she talked to the current D.A. Tyne Patterson. "You have a very prestigious resume. And a good background." 

"Thank you...in this world, and especially this town, I've learned that we are outnumbered by men. Us girls got to stay together." 

"Girl...I completely agree with you. I worked my ass off to get where I am today. Tell me more about yourself." 

"I am 33, raised by a single military father. He now lives in a retirement home slash hospital where he works on his alcohol tolerance. I currently live in L.A. but currently staying here for a bit." 

"You married?" 

"No, but I do have a boyfriend. He's a member of The Sons of Anarchy." 

"Oh..." 

"But, I want this position to provide true justice to cold cases. To get the real murderers and monsters. I was sexually assaulted my freshman year of college. The person never was convicted. That's why I went to law." 

"I'm so sorry to hear that. People in this world are monsters. That's why I also went to law." 

"This job would mean the world to me. It would give me the power to show the world the difference between the true monsters and people who are misunderstood. I think that you and I can turn the tides on this game. I don't take no for an answer. I don't how care how big and macho a man is or if they have a big dick and big balls. I have metaphorical ones just as big. And I'm crazy. At this moment, my client is Otto Delaney, because I believe that there is good in everybody no matter what. Take a chance on me D.A. Patterson. We can take this world by storm." 

"Alright..." Tyne smiled. "Girl, we got some serious work to do..." 

After Charlie got the job, she made a visit to see Roosevelt. "Hello, Sheriff," she grinned, seeing him walk into his office. 

"Ms. Hanson. You're in my chair..." 

"You mean my chair...this is the A.D.A's office, and currently, you are not the A.D.A."

"But we have no A.D.A. I'm flying in a top guy...Lincoln Porter." 

"Actually...I'm kinda like you're boss now. You see, I just spoke to D.A. Patterson. We had a lovely chat, and we're actually on first name bases. But, she hired me to be her A.D.A. With my stellar resume, my valedictorian status at Harvard Law, and my freshness and my L.A.ness, I'm a badass." 

"I...I..."

"I can't believe it either. But, Eli...it looks like I'm in this game now. And my first order of buisness to make sure you get off of Juice's ass. Did you really think he was going to leave SAMCRO? I mean, what type of person drives another man to the point where he was considering suicide? Real low of you..."

"I have no idea what you're talking about..."

"Sure you do. Stay away from my club...you come at me, I will make sure that something comes up about you and take you down personally. Now...I got to go pack up my stuff at my old firm and celebrate with a Scottish biker who will make me sore for days. Ciao..." Charlie smirked, blowing him a kiss as she walked out. 

* * *

"So... Where's this new buyer?" Cruz asked, one of the Lobos men. 

"Waiting for my call. You have the blow?" LaRoy asked. 

"Three keys, half already cut and bagged."

"They're a few minutes away." A phone rang nearby. A gunshot suddenly went off alerting the cartel, the sons, the Niners, and the Lobos. "Back up!"

Chaos ensured with more gunfire and shouting from which other direciton. LaRoy and the cartel took cover as shots rained down on them.

"Go, go..." Luis told his men as the Lobos raced off.

"Get us out of here. Shit! Get down."

Tires screetched as they peeled off. Jax stood, kicking the gravel. "Goddamn it! What the hell was that?!"

"Guess the threat was bigger than you thought, huh?" Clay questioned.

"Line 'em up. Hurry!" Luis told his men as they grabbed the Niners to make them kneel. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?!" Jax asked, hurrying over to them. 

"Sending a message."

"Clay! You can't let them do this. I did what you asked! Clay," LaRoy begged.

"You can't do this," Jax protested.

"This is not your business," Luis spat. 

"It's all our business! This isn't Mexico. We're not kings here, man. We got to work with other crews. You start gunning people down, no one is going to trust us. You want to move your product, we need relationships."

"Not this relationship."

"Laroy made a bad choice. Better message is that he changed his mind, decided to roll with Galindo. You kill this guy, you're killing everything."

"One more bad decision and I'm gonna wipe 19th Street from the map," Luis threatened, lowering his arm. 

* * *

"You waiting on Jax?" Gemma asked, seeing Tara inside of the Clubhouse with Thomas in his carrier.

"Kinda. How you holding up?"

"I'm fine, baby."

"I have a question. Before Piney died...he had JT's letters. Did anybody ever find them?" 

"No...I burned the ones that I had. They were copies. You had the originals and you gave them to Piney. A dead man tells no tales, I guess." 

"It doesn't make sense. I know he was sick...but now, I'm confused." 

"He died in his sleep. He died peacefully." 

"Yeah. Something doesn't just feel right about this." 

"That's probably because you feel quilty. You have no idea of the shit you stirred up." 

"I haven't done anything with them."

"You let Piney read 'em."

"No, I didn't. I-I asked him about John, told him I read some things. Did he say that he read them?"

"I don't know anymore."

"Jax and I are going on a vacation for a couple of weeks." 

"Why? You want out of here?" 

"This is my home. I'm not running. I did that once and it was my worst mistake, ever. I just need a break from the heads in the bag, and the drugs. Don't you?"

"Why didn't you let Jax read those letters?" Gemma asked. 

"You were right. Things John wrote about would be very painful for Jax to read. The truth about John's suicide. Son's don't kill themselves."

"He wouldn't know how to feel...who to trust..."

"Yeah. Finding out how John really felt at the end-- it would break Jax's heart knowing how he had been hating his father so... deep. The guilt will cripple him." 

"What about me? What would he feel about me if he read 'em?"

"He'd learn some hurtful truth. You being with Clay before John died."

"I made mistakes."

"Did you know that JT thought that Clay wanted to kill him?"

"I know what everyone else does. John went out the way they should all go out-- on two wheels at high speed. I don't know if Clay killed JT. All I know is, he brought me back to life. What are you gonna do?

"I'm gonna drive up to Oregon tomorrow. Surgical conference. Give me some time to think. Then Jax is going to join us..." 

* * *

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Jax asked, knocking on the door.

"What's going on?" Gemma questioned, closing the weekly reports.

"Tara's going to head up to Oregon tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know."

"She's taking the boys with her."

"I know that too."

"She's their mother. She's gonna take Elyda to help her," Jax explained. "She just needs a break. Until this cartel shit blows over." 

Charlie walked into the clubhouse with a hop in her step. Seeing Chibs, she glided over to him and tossed her arms around his neck. "You're going to love me..." she purred. 

"I kinda already do..." 

"Guess who made A.D.A.?" 

"No shite!" Chibs laughed, lifting her up and placing her ontop of the bar. 

"Yeah..." Charlie grinned as Chibs kissed her. 

"Ew..." Jax groaned seeing Chibs make out with Charlie as he and Gemma left her office. 

"Charlie just made A.D.A." Chibs explained. 

"No shit..." Jax grinned. 

"Yeah..." Charlie chuckled as Chibs kissed her neck. "You guys have been really nice to me. I know that I'm not from your world. I mean...I'm materialistic, love the big cities, and clean things compared to your back roads outlaws. But you have been really been welcoming to me and Chib's relationships. Plus I can't stand Roosevelt. But one thing about me is I love families. I have never had a big family. And you guys already know that I'm not afraid to get down and dirty. So, I said what the heck." 

"Chibby! If you don't put a crow on her, I will! So...I have a couple of parking tickets, a couple of public indeciency charges..." Tig began to say. 

* * *

"You were great today. Talking the cartel down, saving Laroy and all those other guys. It was impressive. This club needs that. I think you're ready," Bobby told Jax, patting him on the back. Jax opened his mouth, but Bobby interrupted him. "Yeah, I know you want the gavel. I also know that Clay don't thinks you're ready." 

"Who told you that?" Jax asked.

"It was Clay talking to me about handing me the gavel after he steps down. You are supposed to be the next president, not me. It's your path."

Jax felt anger bubble in him. Who was Clay to tell Bobby that Jax wasn't ready for the gavel. Everybody else sure think he did, including his girlfriend and his best friend's wife. Sure he had doubts, but that was normal. He was a new father, about to be a husband one day, and soon be in charge of bikers in a dicey situation. "Everybody has doubts at one point."

"That's what gets people killed. We all believe in you. You just need to believe in yourself." 

"I do what I have to do."

"Like you tried with Ima. Your solution to a problem will always be a club solution. It's the way you're wired. A president needs to have a cool head."

"I can keep a cool head."

"Yeah. Well, maybe."

Jax sighed and walked off, storming into church. "You told Bobby I wasn't ready? Promised him  _my_ seat?" 

"I'm sorry. Opie can't lead this club. It's just not who he is. I'm only trying to protect what we worked so hard to build. And you're not ready," Clay explained.

"At this rate, everybody's gunning for me to take that seat. And pretty soon, you won't be here either." Clay scoffed at his words. "The cartel was a mistake."

"You almost took Bobby's head off this morning for barking that same gripe."

"I'm not just griping about it. We need an exit strategy. I'm gonna come up with one, and then I'm gonna rip that seat from underneath your ass."

"What are you talking about?"

"We're gonna make this deal with the Irish, get Romeo his WMDs, and then, we're gonna sit down and plan a way to get this club free of Galindo. See an end date. And then you're gone. I'm taking that fucking seat and going to change the club. You think the club is broken? Well, guess who did it."

"You promised me, I would finish this out. My hands aren't dead yet."

"And you promised me the cartel would be good for the club. I guess we both lied."

"Doctor pussy's clouding who you are, son."

Jax lept over his chair and grabbed the front of of Clay's shirt. "If you ever talk that way about Tara again, I will pound those half-dead hands so hard into this table, you won't ever be able to hold that gavel again." Letting go of Clay, he glared at him. "You're days are numbered. I would stock up if I were you." 

* * *

Jax returned home to find Tara packing. He checked on his boys and went back to the bedroom. Opening the case, he grabbed his duffel and began to stuff his saved cash in it. "What's going on?" Tara asked, seeing Jax take out an unregistered gun. 

"I changed my mind. I'm going with you tomorrow. The tables fucking turned." 

"What happened? Talk to me," Tara begged, stopping him. 

"Clay tried to double cross me. Tried to give Bobby my seat. Then he told me that I wasn't ready and that you were clouding my judgement. I think he was threatening you. With the connections to the cartel he has, I'm not letting you three out of my sight. I'm getting you someplace safe, then I;m going to figure out a solution to end this cartel deal and to take down Clay. He crossed a fucking line," Jax growled. 

Tara stopped his ranting with a kiss. "Whatever happens, I'm with you. We're doing this together. You want that seat, then I will make sure you get that seat. You're not alone, baby..." 


	8. When the Tough Get Going

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during episode 10, season 4. Enjoy...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please go back and read the previous chapter. I had a change of heart. It will shock the socks off you.

Today was going to be a good day. Tara could feel it. She would be able to get Jax's head on a bit straighter. Think about everything. Protect her boys. Jax was kneeling down, strapping a pistol to his ankle, as Tara zipped up a cooler. "I packed a lunch. I figured we could stop at that park outside Walnut Grove."

"Great. I like that park," Jax smiled, kissing her. 

Gemma knocked, entering the house. "Hey, baby," she smiled. 

"Hey, Mom. What are you doing here?" Jax asked.

"Well, you're taking my grandkids on a trip to Oregon. You think I'm not going to stop and say good-bye?" Gemma asked.

"It's just four or five days," Tara sighed, putting on Abel's sweater.

"Where's Elyda?"

"I'm actually going to take up Tara and the boys. Turn it into a little family vacation."

"Out of state? You're on release."

"No, we're, we're staying in-state. The conference is just a few hours over the border. And I'll have Rogue River keep an eye on them up in Oregon," Jax asnwered, putting Thomas's shoes on. 

"Does Clay know?"

"He will after you tell him. We got stuff with the Irish. I'll be back day after tomorrow."

"What about the Mexicans?"

"Nothing for us to do. It's an internal beef. We've been told to stay out of it," Jax shrugged, picking up Thomas out of his high chair.

"Say goodbye to Grandma."

"Bye, baby boy. Be good for mommy and daddy," Gemma told the youngest Teller. 

* * *

"So, Tara and Jax are taking their family vacation," Addie told Happy who sat on the sofa watching TV. "They just left." 

"Good...it will be good for Jax." 

"Yeah..." Addie smiled, sitting next to Happy. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I got a job interview." 

"Really? With who?" 

"They're opening a Faviana's here in California. And you're fabulous wife got herself a golden ticket." 

"That's great babe. I'm really proud of you," Happy smiled. 

"Yeah. I just hope I don't blow it...or blow chucks during it." 

"The morning sickness seems to be getting better..." 

"If better you mean not in the morning, then yeah," she snarked, pulling her feet up onto the couch. 

"What happened to my sweet, quiet, wife Adelaide?"

"Your demon spawn turned me into a monster. Plus, you knew that I had this side to me. The sweet, quiet side is only one part of who I am. Plus, I don't feel like I have to be hushed anymore. Gemma and Tara are really outspoken for old ladies. And don'get me me started Kayla. She's a freak of nature. Like you." 

"Yeah...she's pretty cool." 

"But seriously...don't get me started on the morning sickness. Plus you're cologne makes me nauseous. And my breasts are sore." 

"They're also bigger," Happy grinned.

Addie scoffed, slapping him upside his bald head. "Fuck off...we need to find a doctor soon to. And we need to talk about the CVS testing or an amiocentisis test. Plus, I don't care what you're mother says, we are not having this child at home. I know she did it and my mom did, and three fourths of my sister-in-laws did it, we are having this baby in the hospital with lots of drugs." 

"I thought you were an advocate for home and natural birth." 

"Are you fucking kidding me? I have seen many births before, including Tara's, and I'm not going through that pain. You want me to be in that much pain, you better have your ass by my side and your hand in mine. You think you can handle blood and guts, you clearly haven't seen a birth." 

"It can't be that bad..." 

"You'll see." 

"Well, as you get further along, we'll start clearing out one of the spare rooms near our room. I was thinking total black and Harleys." 

"For a nursery...for a baby..." 

"It's a boy. Lowman's have boys. And your family has four boys." 

"That's not good logic. It could be a girl..." 

"If it's a girl, I will ride through town, in my boxers. I'm telling you...it's a boy. It's father's intution." 

"Fine. But we're not going to paint the baby's room black." 

"Come on..." 

"You realize that it's not an adult right? It's a baby...I veto the black. Blue?" 

"Too cliche. I like red." 

"Red for a nursery? Green?" 

"That's the color of puke. Shit..." 

"So...the only color we have yet to say for a boy is yellow..." 

"I despise yellow." 

"Then Happy...our baby will have no nursery! Are you happy now?!" Addie bursted out, huffing as she stormed up the stairs into the office. 

"What the fuck? What did I say?" Happy asked to himself. 

* * *

Kayla and Opie enjoyed a quiet morning, something that usually happened. Kayla laid on her back, hand over her heart as she tried to catch her breath. Opie was sprawled on the bed next to her on his stomach, his leg over her legs. "Shit...when will sex ever be boring with us?" Kayla asked. 

"Knowing us...mostly you...not for a long time. Except when you break my back one day." 

"Don't be a baby.. I couldn't break you if I tried...you're six foot four, 200 plus pounds compared to my five foot two frame." 

"Why do you think I let you be on top," Opie smirked. 

Kayla gasped and slapped his ass, making Opie laugh for the first time in two weeks since his dad passed away. Rolling back on top of Kayla, Opie shuddered as she ran her hands through his long hair, pulling a bit hard. "You need a hair cut..." she moaned.

"I thought you liked my hair long." 

"I do....but not when it looks greasy and with spit ends...make an appoitment with Loyd. Didn't Clay give you all a free day to collect his thoughts?" 

"Yeah. Jax took Tara up to Oregan for that conference with the boys." 

"Well, maybe we should have a family day. Go up to the streams with the kids. We can go fishing!" 

"Fishing? Yeah...let's do that." 

"Yes! I'll call Mary, see if she can bring them home early and invite her to tag along." 

Opie was suprised when Mary stuck around after Piney's funeral. Maybe loosing her husband pushed her to be closer to her grandchildren and son. They working through their issues, Kayla usually being the buffer. Opie wasn't sure he would be able to handle all of this without her. His love for her grew each day she was there for him. She wasn't easily scared with the drugs and the Sons. Her dad had been helping a lot as well. He even wanted to build the kids a tree house so they can have a moment alone from their moodiness. Opie was sure that Donna had pointed her in their lives. As much as he still loved and missed her, he finally was able to let her go. Piney was right hiring Kayla. 

"Mary's in. I called my dad as well. He's going to grab some minnows on the way out. Then we can have a fish fry." 

"Sounds like a plan...you should wear a bikini." 

"You always think I should wear a bikini. I'll compromised and wear shorts, yeah?" 

"Deal..." Opie grinned, getting out of bed. 

* * *

Clay sat in church, waiting for the confirmation. He needed to shake up Jax...show him the connections they still had with the cartel. And one way to get through a biker is through his old lady. He placed the call last night before Jax came home. The cartel had connections...he would shake things up with Tara. Scare her so she could leave. He would break Jax's heart if he could get his way. So, he sat back and waited for the deed to be done. 

* * *

Jax and Tara stopped at a gas station for more gas, smiling and laughing as they finished another kid song. "Hey, relax. We're civilians," Tara told Jax, stroking his chest as she got out to stretch her legs and check on the boys.

"Yeah, right," Jax smirked, patting her ass as she went to use the restroom. 

Jax then stiffened as a motorcycle policeman came up to him. "Say, how you like it?" he asked, looking at their SUV.

"Excuse me?" Jax questioned. 

"My daughter wants one."

Jax relaxed a bit as they began to talk shop. "Oh, uh... My old lady loves it. It's hers. How fast is that 1150?" Jax asked back, noticing his bike.

"Fast enough. You ride?"

"Yeah. You miss the Defender?"

"Ah, I miss the power. Beamer's more comfortable. Got a shitty back."

"Maybe it's time to trade it in for a cage, huh?" Jax suggested. 

"When I'm dead."

"Amen to that."

The policeman looked inside the back seat, seeing Thomas. "Hey, little guy. How you doing? All right. You gentlemen have a good day. Yeah."

"So..." Tara asked, coming back out with fruit snacks for Abel and two waters for them. 

"Just talking shop..." Jax shrugged, taking a bottle from her. 

"So...all is well?" 

"All is well babe...come on. I'm getting hungry." 

* * *

Charlie was humming as she set up her new office. She had a nice mahogony desk and matching book case in her office. A nice cusioned chair that spinned, and her dad's metals in a frame on her wall. Hearing a knock, she saw Juice enter with a present. "Hey, Juice." 

"Hey. I wanted to tell you thank you for getting them off of my back. Roosevelt hasn't bothered me since." 

"Good. How are you doing with the other things..." 

"I don't know..." 

"Well...maybe you should talk to someone. Therapy helps you know." 

"I don't want to be doped up on pills..." 

"And I don't want you hurting yourself. You're like a kid brother to me, Juan. And I don't know if you see it, but Fillip sees you as a younger brother as well. Sometimes like an actual son." 

"I guess that therapy won't be so bad...as long as it just stays between me and you." 

"Deal." 

"The guys wouldn't understand. Sons don't kill themselves." 

"Is that another stupid bylaw?" 

"Kinda." 

"They need to know that mental wellness is no joke." 

"Some of the guys have no clue. I think Chib's knows..." 

"He does..." Charlie whispered, remembering one particular night where she stroked the underside of his wrists. The rough grooves of the horizontal scars haunted her. He meant so much to her. 

"I think JT commited suicide. That's why Gemma and Jax never speak of him. Piney always idolized him." 

"Who's JT?" 

"John Teller. First ever president of the Sons. First Nine." 

"So, John was president, and then he died and Clay became president. Why not Piney?" 

"I don't know." 

"Who else is first nine?" Charlie asked, grabbing a legal pad and a pen from her desk. 

"Uh...JT, Clay, Piney, Lenny the Pimp, Keith McGee, Wally Grazer, Uncle Tom Whitney, Chico Villanueva, and Otto 'Lil Killer' Moran." 

"Alright..." Charlie nodded, writing them down. Something seemed off still with Piney's death. "Thank Juicy," she smiled. 

"What are you up to?" 

"Nothing...just research." 

"Be careful, alright? I would hate to seem anything bad happen to you..." 

"I'll be alright," she smiled, ushering him out the door. Once he was gone, she turned to Harley the cat who sat in his new cat caboodle in the corner of her office. "Harley...something smells fishy, and it's not you." 

* * *

Jax leaned against the picnic basket, playing with Tara's hair as she rested her head against his stomach. Both were laying on the backs, watching Abel run around. "Thank you for sticking with me through all of this," Jax told her. "For not running again." 

"Running away was the worst mistake I ever did. That and not telling you about Thomas when I was pregnant. You being gone for those months, I've learned how to fight like an Old Lady. This is my home. I used to despise the club, but I got to know the guys better and they became my boys as well. With all of their flaws, I love them. Opie's is like a brother to me, Tig is still growing on me, Chibs is like a father figure, Juice is like that annoying kid brother, Happy still scares the fuck out of me..." 

"Yeah, I think he scares the fuck out of everybody. Except Addie..." 

"I don't know how she does it dealing with him. He's so quiet. And don't forget my girls." 

"Right...you're brigade of Old Ladies. We're all pussy whipped," Jax laughed. 

"Everybody grew on me...all except Clay really. Did he really threaten me and the boys?" 

"More like you. But he threatens you, he messes with me. His days are numbered. I need to fix this deal, then I'm gonna start campaigning for the president seat and gavel." 

"What ever happens, I'm with you. I'll be your campaign manager. You get the girls on your side, you get the guys as well. Remember, you're all pussy whipped." 

"I think Chibs has it worst than us right now."

"God...I hope Chibs don't fuck up. I fucking love Charlie. She's so down to earth, but can kick ass. We connected about alcoholic fathers. And they seem perfect for each other. He needs to make her his old lady and put his crow on her." 

"Look at you, concerned about affairs of the club."

"Gemma rubbed off on me I guess." 

"Well, she did become A.D.A of the county. I think that's a permanent spot. I think I'm gonna hire her when I become president as the club's lawyer. Make us go legit...keep us in the green with the law. Just got to lay low until these charges are done with." 

"What about Scott Rosen and Ally Lowen?" 

"Those are Clay's. We need a fresh start. Ope's going to be VP. We all saw that coming since we were in diapers. Tig's gotta go as well. He's to loyal to Clay. Probably Chibs. Keep Hap as the enforcer. He seems like doing the dirty work." 

"You seem like you got it all figured out." 

"Well...a wise woman told me to think with my head and not with my dick," Jax smirked, kissing her. 

* * *

Juice walked up to Chibs, seeing him work on a cage. "Hey, can we talk?"

"Sure, Juicy," Chibs nodded. 

"So...I was talking to Charlie about personal things that I'm going through and she suggested that I go see a shrink." 

"That's good Juicy. I won't tell the guys." 

"Yeah, thanks. Roosevelt was on my ass and she got me off. So as we talked today, I brought her a present for good luck and congratulations, but she started to ask about JT and the first nine. She seemed concerned. I was want to make sure she isn't digging into some old graves that SAMCRO once buried." 

"There's no dirt about the first nine that I know off, besides what we already know. But I'll keep an eye on her, Juice," Chibs nodded, now had a bad taste in his mouth about his girlfriend. Juice nodded and walked away to do some work while Chibs chewed on his cheek. "What are you getting into Charlie girl?" 

Meanwhile, Charlie had the police database pulled up. She had pages already filled with facts. She pulled up JT's autosy report, noticing that he lived for two days after he was hit by a semi. He was immediately pumped up full of drugs to prolong his life before dying on his own two days later. Then, shortly after his death, Clay and Gemma got married. Something still didn't see right. 

* * *

Tara placed Thomas in his car seat and buckled him up when she felt four rough hands grabbed her and pull her away. "Oh, my God! What are you doing?!" Tara yelled, kicking into panic mode. She was tossed inside a van and they were off. 

Jax was returning from the boy's room when he heard her shout. Seeing two hooded men shove his woman in the car, he raced over to the car, checking the kids, before racing after the van. "Tara!"

"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go, goddamn it!" Tara cursed, kicking her attackers away. Tara told herself she would never be victim again. Not after Salazar. She remembered the sacrifice that Addie and Kayla made to save her and Thomas. So, she began to fight like a woman possessed.

"Tara!" Jax screamed, grabbing his pistol and shooting at the tires. He hit one, causing the van to swerve. 

"¡No pelees, puta! ¡Vámonos!" the men tried to close the door, but Tara's hand was in the way. Tara heard the bones crunch in her hand and wrist and she remembered Addie's face of pain when Salazar slammed her hand in the door. Now here she was, and she could barely feel a thing. The door slid back open, and Tara could feel the van slow down. Jumping out, she sat there, cradling her wrist to her chest, but couldn;'t run to Jax because they still had a hold of her arm.   Jax got to her, punching the man in the face to release her. Tara saw a barrel of a machine gun, but Jax stepped in front of her, and the man lowered it, driving away. "Vámonos!"

"Okay, okay... You're okay. You're okay," Jax told her, cradling her to his chest. 

Ten minutes later, EMTs and paramedics swarmed them. "Shit. You guys are okay?" Jax asked his crying children.

"You have to take me to St. Thomas," Tara pleaded, her voice filled with pain. Her broken wrist and hand were in a temporay splint and ice over it. 

"Can't do that, ma'am. Out of our jurisdiction," said one EMT.

"We'll take you to Memorial, they can transfer you from there," said the other. 

"She's a surgeon at St. Thomas. You can't take her?" Jax asked, coming up to the gurney.

"Take her to Charming. I'll talk to your dispatcher. All right?" asked the same Sheriff's deputy from earlier that day.

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you," Jax sighed, seeing Tara being loaded up into the ambulance. 

"You're on federal release, Mr. Teller. Folks nearby heard a lot of gunshots. Hope you weren't the one firing the weapon."

"No, sir. They did all the shooting," Jax lied. "Look, I got to get my boys home. Can we do this at the hospital? Please?"

"We'll follow you there."

"Thank you." 

Jax got in the car and started it with shaky hands. Reaching for his phone, he dialed the one person he could trust with this at the moment. 

* * *

 

Charlie chewed on the pen as she looked over her notes about the First Nine, and JT's demise. Hearing a knock, she looked up and smiled seeing her boyfriend. "Hey. Come on in." 

"Thanks," Chibs smiled, seeing the demon cat glaring at him. 

"I see you brought the wee bastard." 

"Harley's a friend. And he's slowly warming up to you." 

"So, you enjoying your new office?" 

"Yeah, it's really nice..." Charlie smiled, looking around. She felt so proud of herself. Maybe this would show Fillip that she was here to stay. Make something more permanenet. 

"Juice told me that he came to see you...that you were asking around about the first nine." 

"Something isn't right. I think that somebody in the club killed JT." 

"What? Charlie...JT got hit by a semi. There's no foul play other than that. He met the semi head on."

"But Sons don't commit suicide! Juice told me that! JT loved the club! Why would he end it?!" 

"You didn't know JT like we did. His wee boy just passed, that would enough to send any man over." 

"But not him...his toxicity reports came back unconclusive. He was so doped up on booze and drugs it was a miracle that he could even straight. Then they tried to save him, giving him drugs. Something was wrong with his bike...or someone drugged him. Like they could've drugged Piney." 

"Do you hear how crazy you sound? We're a motorcycle club, not a fucking conspiracy!" 

"A MC full of outlaws! It's not the first time one out you would kill each other! Tig fucking killed Opie's wife, thinking it was Opie. Juice killed Miles." 

"Leave it alone, Charlie." 

"No..." Charlie denied him. 

"Charlotte, I'm warning you. Leave this alone, or else." 

"Or else what? You going to lock me in here? I'm not your old lady..." 

"Maybe that's a good thing!" 

"Fine!" 

"Fine!" 

"Excuse me? Charlie?" a young man asked, tapping on her door. 

"WHAT?!" Both Charlie and Chibs asked. 

"Phone call on your cellphone. You asked me to answer it for you. Somebody named Jax...said it's urgent." 

"Thank you, Andrew. Fillip, my assistant Andrew, Andrew, my sometimes boyfriend, Fillip." 

"Hi," Andrew smiled. 

Chibs rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as Charlie answered the phone. "Hey, Jax...what? Oh my god...yeah, okay. I'll dig it up and come right on over....It's pro-bono, Jax. You're a friend...Yeah, I will....No problem, see you there." Charlie hung up the phone, putting it in the pocket of her dress. "We gotta go. Tara was almost abducted. She's hurt, heading over to St. Thomas. Jax has cops hounding him."

"Jaysus...I'll follow," Chibs told her, their argument set aside. 

"Alright," Charlie nodded, grabbing her jacket. "Andrew, find me Jax Teller's file and meet me at St. Thomas." 

* * *

Once Jax saw Charlie and Chibs, with another man behind them running in a suit with a file in his hand, he felt slightly better. Jax turned his attention where Tara was being wheeled out of her room towards the x-rays. Rushing over, he grabbed her good hand. "Hey," he smiled sightly, kissing her hand.

"The boys..." Tara began to say.

"They're fine. They're at the house with Elyda," Jax soothed, running a hand through her hair."It's okay, babe. You're gonna be fine. They're taking you to X-ray. Dr. Balian will be down there to look at the hand, okay?"

"I love you," Tara called out. 

Gemma came rushing over to him, having gotten the awful explanation from Elyda. "Are you okay, baby?" Gemma asked.

"I'm fine."

"Where they taking her?"

"To X-ray. I got to talk to the cops, Mom."

"What happened, Jax? Someone attacked Tara. Tried to abduct her."

"Let's talk, Mr. Teller," the Deputy told him.

"Wait...my attorney..." Jax told them. 

"Is right here..." Charlie told them, getting into lawyer mode. Smiling, she stuck out her hand. "Charlotte Hanson, Defense Attorney and Assistant District Attorney. I am Mr. Teller's legal consoul. Explain to them what happened Jax." 

"We were on a small family outing. She was going to Providence for a conference. I was escorting her to the border. We stopped at the park for lunch and the our sons play around. I was using the restroom when two men came after her. They started firing at me, but she fought back. She managed to escape and I punched one of them that still had a hold on her. They got away." 

"As you see, my client was just trying to protect his family. He did not fire a firearm, and was using basic self defense to save his fiance. Now...does that sound suspicious?" 

"No..." 

"No, it doesn't. He wasn't going to leave the border either. So, it sounds like that this here is done. Am I correct?" 

"Yes, ma'am." 

"Good. My assistant Andy will give you my card." 

* * *

"What happened?" Clay asked, walking up to his wife. 

"Someone tried to take Tara. They hurt her real bad," Gemma explained, looking at him.

"Jesus. We know who did it?"

Gemma looked into his blue eyes and saw there was no emotion there. That gave her the chills. "No."

"They were speaking Spanish. It had to be Lobo retaliation. I got a call into Romeo; I haven't heard back yet," Jax told the boys.

"Let's find Laroy. He knows how to get in touch with Lobo," Tig told them. 

"Absolutely."

"All right, we got V-Lin at your house with the nanny. We'll keep Phil and Rat here with Tara. Addie's already on her way over, and Kayla is driving the kids to your house to help out with them,"Opie told his brother.

"Call Alvarez. We might need him," Jax nodded.

"Where you going, baby?" Gemma asked, seeing Jax walk away.

"Stay with Tara. Keep me posted," Jax told her, kissing her cheek.

"Okay."

Tara laid in the hospital bed, holding up her films with her good hand. "Jesus," she sighed, seeing the damage herself.

"Three broken metacarpals," the ortho surgeon clarified. 

"Median nerve?" Tara asked.

"Yes. There's damage from the trauma. We should get in there right away."

Tara set the films down and nodded."Okay."

"I'll schedule it. We're gonna do everything we can."

"I know. Thank you." 

* * *

Jax stopped his bike, climbing off. Alvarez got off behind him, and then the Sons and Mayans followed. Nobody expected the first shot, but when they heard it, it was too late. Rafi dropped with a hole in his head. Everybody pulled out their side arm and started firing back at each other, each going for cover. "Shit! Shit!" Jax cursed, bracing for cover. 

"Down! Down! Down!" Opie called out, grabbing his pistol from his halter.

"Stop firing! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Jax called out. "Laroy!"

"Laroy, get out of there!" a Niner called out.

"What the hell, Laroy?!" Jax asked, standing up.

"You tell me!" Laroy shouted back, coming down with a couple of Niners behind him. 

"We just walked in, your crew starts shooting at us."

"Thought you were the damn cartel."

"Do we look like a goddamn cartel?!"

"Your Mexicans do!"

The Mayans raised their guns, making the tension grow. "Put 'em down!" Jax yelled out.

"Lobo took out three of my men this morning. We're all a little skittish." Alvarez raised his arm and shot one of the Niners. "Shit!"

"You just killed one of my best soldiers, ese," Alvarez shrugged.

Laroy raised his arm, causing Jax to step in to intervene. "Don't do it, Laroy."

"It's like that? This wetback bitch over me?"

"Hey, you both lost a guy, you're even."

"No, we ain't. Get out!" Laroy shouted,

"We need your contact info for Lobo Sonora," Jax explained.

"You need to get out before this place is crawling with purple, and I kill everything, brown and white," Laroy warned, waving his gun around.

"Come on, Jax. Come on," Opie told his brother, pushing him away. 

"That was Romeo. He's just finishing up a meet in Rio Vista," Bobby informed Clay.

"All right, let's go," Jax nodded.

"You're too amped up," Tig told him, as he tried to get to his bike. Happy stepped in the way, blocking him.

"What the hell do you expect?!"

"Go back to Charming. You're going to be with Tara, all right?" Opie told him.

"I'll get the intel from Romeo. I am talking to these guys!"

"Come on," Happy told him, holding him down.

"What?"

"He's right. Let Clay handle it, Jackie. Hey, we're going to find out who did this to Tara and we're gonna hurt 'em. I promise," Chibs told Jax.

"You go be with your family, all right?" Tig told his VP, walking to his bike.

"Bobby and me, we're going to ride with you," Happy told Tig, getting on his bike.

"You stay with Jax," Bobby told Opie and Chibs. "No, can't ride alone. Not today."

Jax calmed down and nodded. "All right, let's go." 

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Clay asked. He had intended Tara to be hurt. Just scare her to run away, taking Jax's pussy ass with her.

"Your VP happened."

"This is bad, man. What's the fallout?"

"Your guys crushed her goddamn hand," Clay sneered. "That's the fallout. Jax is on fire. Thinks the Lobos did it."

"That's why I got the escorts," Romeo shrugged. "Good."

"Good? Shit, it's a goddamn disaster. Paid 25K for a clean job. I didn't want her hurt or dead, just scared out of her mind."

"Here's your refund. New task. We're gonna kill the doctor. We'll take care of the hit personally. No more middle man."

"Nah, forget it. I can't do that."

"She's still a threat. Has to be taken care of."

"Jax is never going to leave her side, man. Nah, nah, it's too risky."

"It's more risky letting her undermine this operation. It has to be handled. Soon. We need to give Jax a few Lobos. Satisfy his need for revenge. Understood? We'll be in touch." Romeo walked away, leaving Clay standing there, unsure of what to do. 

Clay returned home, and put the money back in the safe. Gemma was waiting for him, her trusted pistol in his hand. "What's the matter? Change your mind? Get a refund 'cause they didn't kill her?" Gemma asked.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"You promised me. You looked me in the eye and you promised me you wouldn't hurt Tara!"

Clay let out a laugh. "You're insane. I had nothing to do with what happened to Tara."

"You took money out of that safe this morning. Hours later, somebody goes after Tara. She'd probably be dead if Jax wasn't with her!"

"You need to stop, right now!" Clay warned.

"You didn't know that Jax was going to be with her, did you? Or the boys. Jesus Christ, those babies could have been hurt!"

"Enough!"

"Maybe Jax needs to know that truth. You stay away from me, you son of a bitch. You stay away from my family," Gemma threatened, cocking the gun and pointing it at  him. 

"Or what? You're going to kill me, Gemma? Huh? Like you did the first husband?" 

Realization drew to Gemma. She had her answer. Those letters weren't a suicide notes. They were a plea for help. Somehow, Clay managed to make it happen. "You killed John," she whispered, tears filling her eyes. 

"Nah. Baby, you killed him. You played me for a chump, and I was. I was no match for that tight pussy and that broken, angry heart. Yeah, maybe Jax needs to read some of that truth." Clay grabbed her throat, and Gemma pushed him away. 

"Get away from me!" Gemma bolted for the door, but Clay was quick to catch up with her. She fired above his head, but Clay swiped the gun away from her hands. Gemma reared up and punched him, causing Clay to back hand her. Gemma fell against the table, hard breaking it. Gemma kicked Clay as he got closer to her. "You piece of shit!" 

Clay grabbed a hold of her leg, and punched her again. And again. And again. Until his rings were covered in her blood and her face was broken and bruised to a pulp.

* * *

"How bad?" Jax asked, standing up when he saw the surgeon.

"Bones set easily. No issue there. The nerve damage was severe."

"Oh... God. What does that mean?"

"It means I won't have full use of my hand," Tara answered, numbly.

"Is that permanent?"

"We don't know yet," the doctor sighed. 

"Well, can you do more surgeries and fix it?"

"Yes, we'll try. We're going to consult with Lane and Delafield out of Cedars. They're the best hand surgeons in the country."

"Okay, thank you," Jax nodded, shaking his hand as he left. Sitting back down, he saw Tara close her eyes. 

Charlie knocked on the door, smiling sightly. "Hey. Addie's got a really big interview tommorow, so she's going to stay home. She sends her love." 

"Thank, Charlie."

"I'll stay here so you can call about the boys." 

"Alright." 

Jax got up and kissed Tara on the forehead as he left to grab himself a cup of coffee and to call the house. Charlie took his chair, pulling her feet up. "How you feeling?" 

"Tired," Tara croaked out. 

"I'm so sorry Tara. If it makes it all better, I'm feeling crappy as well. Chibs and I had a giant fight."

"About what?" Tara asked, forgetting about her hand and Jax for a moment. 

"I think that there's a big conspiracy involving The First Nine and JT's death that resulted in Piney's death. Chibs thinks I'm crazy. I know I sound like a nutdoodle right now." 

"I don't think you're wrong..." Tara told her, grabbing her hand with her good one. 

"What?" 

"This lady...Maureen Ashby...had these letters from JT. He talked about how Clay was starting to get closer to his wife and how he thought that Clay was trying to get him. He was paranoid."

"And..."

"I think that somehow, Clay was involved with JT's death. And now to mention it, Piney had read the letters. It was no secret he wanted out of the drug cartel. And now this...with me? Jax said that Clay threatened me to him the other day." 

"So, you think that Clay did this..." 

"Yes. I think you're onto something. Whatever you do...be careful. Clay Morrow is a smart man. He has connections." 

"I will. Keep whole, T. I'm going to get to the bottom of this." Charlie kissed Tara's cheek, then headed out the door. This was all she needed to know that she was right. Pulling out her phone, she dialed an old number. 

Jax returned with the phone between his hand and ear. "Hey, do you want to say good night to Abel?"

"Just, um, tell him Mommy's sleeping," Tara whispered, remembering when she first met him. So tiny...she saved his life, got to see him grow up to be a beautiful little boy. Give Jax a chance to be a wonderful father that he was. Now she would never be able to give another set of parents that chance.

"Thank you, Elyda," Jax hung up the phone and took Tara's hand in his. "Tell me what I can do for you."

"Nothing."

"Please, get mad at me, Tara. Scream at me or something. I know this is all my fault."

"No. It's not, Jax," she told him, turning her head away from his. She wanted to feel sorry for herself. Tears began to well up in her eyes. "This had to happen."

"What are you talking about?"

"Fate. We're supposed to be together, right? Be this powerful couple of Charming. Live our lives here. Change the world and SAMCRO. But you can't lead here. They won't let you."

"I'm going to get that chair. With you at my side."

"No. The club won't let you. Clay won't let you. They want Bobby, not us. Charming won't let you."

"Come on. Babe, that's just the drugs talking. You should get some sleep."

"The only way we can be what we want is with us throwing a coup. If we have money...I lose my way out. I lost that today, baby." Jax tried to say something, but Tara shut him down. "No. I have a dead hand. No one will want me. No one... I'll never save another life again. I'll never fix a tiny heart."

"Hey, come on. Don't do this," Jax pleaded, his heart breaking.

"It's okay. 'Cause now we can be together, you, me, Gemma... here in beautiful Charming. Happy family. Clay will always be president, then Bobby, then they'll be no more SAMCRO. All of our hardwork and sacrifice for nothing. Maybe I should smash my other hand. That way I can just stay at home. Be a mom, raise babies."

"Tara, stop. Don't... don't do that."

"You should leave now," her voice cracked.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Jax nodded.

Tara ripped her hand from his. "I can't see you. Anyone. Please just go."

"Baby, come on."

"Go! Go! Go!" Tara sobbed, banging her good hand on the bed. 

Jax sniffed, and got up and walked out. Going out into the waiting room, he saw most of SAMCRO standing vigil, Addie, and Kayla waiting for him. Kayla noticed Jax's face and grabbed Addie's hand. "Come on.." 

They walked towards Tara's door, and knocked softly, hearing Tara's broken cries. She laid on her side, facing away from the door. Kayla stepped forward and climbed into the bed behind her, spooning her from the back. Laying her head on her arm, she used her free hand to stroke Tara's hair. Addie kicked off her shoes and laid in front of Tara, grabbing Tara's hand and holding it close to her body. Tara closed her eyes, and cried into Addie's hair and neck, letting out her grief. 

"Hey, thanks for being here," Jax told the guys, wiping his eyes. 

"Come on," Tig smiled, hugging Jax.

"Absolutely, brother," Chibs grinned, hugging him as well.

"Come on."

"I'm going to stay with Tara, but you guys should head back."

"We'll leave the prospects," Chibs nodded, heading over. 

"I think the girls are going to stick around as well. Need anything?" Opie asked.

"I'm good. Ope. Can I talk to you a minute?"

"Yeah. What's up brother?" Opie asked, taking a seat as Jax collasped. 

"I don't know if I can go through with this. Yes, I have my leadership qualities. But, you saw how brash I was today. I'm not ready man...we're not ready. I think we need to give the gavel to Bobby for a moment, and get it when we're ready. I promised Clay I would support him with this if I could get the seat next. But he clearly believes that Bobby should have the gavel instead of us. I love you, Ope. You're my best friend. But we're just aren't ready. We both have families, man. I'm giving up." Jax patted Opie on the leg, and got up to find himself some dinner. 

* * *

"Gemma?" Unser asked, knocking on the door.

"It's open."

"What's going on?" Stepping inside, he stumbled back at the sight of Gemma. She was smoking a joint in the dark, tear stained on her bruised and battered cheeks. "Oh. Oh, Jesus. Holy shit, Gemma."

"Clay did this," she sniffed.

"Goddamn him," Unser hissed, wanting to go put a bullet in his head.

"Sit down," Gemma told him calmy. 

"Sit, hell! Got to get you to the hospital!"

"No. No. Noth-nothing's broken. Just sit. Please," Gemma whispered.

"What do you need, sweetheart? Just tell me what I can do."

"Nothing else to do. It's done, Wayne. Clay can't be saved."

"Okay." 

"He killed John...I don't know how he did it but he did. He blames me, but I know he did it. Messed with his bottle of whiskey or something. Tampered with his bike...the only person John ever trusted was Lowell Sr. and he's dead. Clay killed him to. I'm sure that he had something to do with Piney's death as ell."

"I'll point Piney's murder at him. We'll put him away."

"No. He's not going down by law. He's going to die... by the hand of a Son."  
  
Read more at: http://transcripts.foreverdreaming.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=7347

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN, DUN, DUHHH! Suprise! Clay's a big baddie! Can't wait to see what happens next!


End file.
